Meet Sharone Johnson, Philadelphia’s first Black woman K-9 sergeant

Along with Red, her K-9 companion of approximately a year, Sgt. Sharone Johnson has made history as the first Black female K-9 sergeant in the Philadelphia Police Department. The trailblazer told 6ABC that, despite not having been handed the job on a silver platter, her present career path is a service she has always wanted to accomplish.

She recounted, “I didn’t get here on the first try, I didn’t get here on the second try. I stayed focused, and prayed up and waited my turn… and it finally came.”

Johnson explained that she uses Dutch to control her 2-year-old K-9 partner because it had been brought from Holland. 

The two have created their language as a result. She specified, “I kept a lot of the commands in Dutch. So only Red will know actually what I am telling him to do if I give him a command. We do article searches, building searches, obedience.”

Red attended 400 hours of specialty “sense school,” which included explosives training, and the pair recently completed 560 hours of patrol school.

Ready to put training into practice, Johnson stated, “Now we’re on patrol. We’re in the streets. Waiting for 911 calls, responding to 911 calls.”

The 18th District PDAC commended her performance on social media, writing, “The 18th Police District would like to congratulate Sgt. Sharone Johnson on your outstanding achievement. Your talent and dedication are truly inspiring! ”

“The sky is the limit; whatever you want to do, you do it,” Johnson said, empowering the younger generation.