{"id":460061,"date":"2026-09-11T02:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T02:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/460061\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T02:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T02:46:11","slug":"fox26-ride-along-highlights-clovis-narcotics-k-9-jester-and-handler-officer-ricky-cressall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/460061\/","title":{"rendered":"FOX26 ride-along highlights Clovis narcotics K-9 Jester and handler Officer Ricky Cressall"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the Clovis Police Department, K-9s are an important part of the work, helping officers find narcotics, save time and resources, and keep dangerous drugs off the streets.<\/p>\n

FOX26 is highlighting Jester, a Clovis Police narcotics K-9, and his handler, Officer Ricky Cressall, to give you a firsthand look at the work they do together.<\/p>\n

“They help us do our job in a way that we couldn’t do without them,” said Cressall. <\/p>\n

Jester is trained to detect cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.<\/p>\n

During a ride-along with Cressall, FOX26 got a firsthand look at how Jester works. At the department\u2019s K-9 facility, Cressall set up a training scenario to demonstrate Jester\u2019s detection skills.<\/p>\n

\"FOX26<\/p>\n

FOX26 ride-along highlights Clovis narcotics K-9 Jester and handler Officer Ricky Cressall. (Photo: FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Montelongo)<\/p>\n

Cressall says Jester has one major advantage when it comes to finding narcotics: his nose.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir nose is much more powerful than ours,\u201d Cressall said.<\/p>\n

\"FOX26<\/p>\n

FOX26 ride-along highlights Clovis narcotics K-9 Jester and handler Officer Ricky Cressall. (Photo: FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Montelongo)<\/p>\n

That ability can make a major difference when officers are searching for large buildings or other areas where narcotics may be hidden.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Jester, we can pinpoint that very easily,\u201d Cressall said. He added that using a K-9 can save officers time and resources while helping get narcotics off the streets.<\/p>\n

Jester is trained to alert his handler when he detects the odor he is looking for. During the demonstration, he narrowed down the search and showed his trained response.<\/p>\n

But Jester\u2019s role goes beyond his work as a detection K-9.<\/p>\n

Cressall says the two spend nearly every day together, both on and off the clock.<\/p>\n

“Every day, Jester comes to work with me. We go home. I spend more time with him than my family, it seems like sometimes because he’s always with me,” said Cressall. “If that doesn’t make him an officer, I don’t know what does.” <\/p>\n

\"FOX26<\/p>\n

FOX26 ride-along highlights Clovis narcotics K-9 Jester and handler Officer Ricky Cressall. (Photo: FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Montelongo)<\/p>\n

Jester is one of the many K-9s working alongside law enforcement officers using training, teamwork and a powerful sense of smell to help keep communities safe.<\/p>\n

Cressall has been with Clovis Police for nine years and in law enforcement for 18, including three years working with Jester.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the Clovis Police Department, K-9s are an important part of the work, helping officers find narcotics, save…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-460061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}