Not everyone finds it all that inspiring to put on a bite sleeve, move at a slow jog, and watch as a sprinting police dog bears down on them like a freight train in order to bury its teeth into their arm.
But not everyone is like our next Blue Honor Series Feature Officer, Rocco Favata.
Growing up in upstate New York, Officer Favata knew at a very early age that he wanted to devote his life to the Thin Blue Line that is law enforcement. One of his first memories was meeting a New York State Trooper when he was five-years-old. It was not long afterward that he and his family moved to South Florida. He was unique in the family because he was the only boy of the seven Favata children.
After graduating from Coral Springs High School in 2004, and then Florida Atlantic University with a degree in criminal justice in 2008, the City of Coconut Creek hired him to be a sworn police officer and sent him to the academy. He excelled in the Broward County Criminal Justice Class 266, earning the Honor Medallion Award as the top overall trainee in his class.
After spending two years on Road Patrol, he made the SWAT Team, where he still holds a position to this day. It was helping out the K9 Unit that really piqued his interest. He often volunteered to be the “decoy” and “catch” each patrol dog. “Decoy” means he wore the bite sleeve or sometimes an entire bite suit. A “catch” in K9 training lingo means that the dog gets to bite you when you’re wearing that bite sleeve or suit.
In 2012 the department sent Officer Favata to K9 school where he started one of the most rewarding relationships of his life. He was assigned a young, one-year-old Czech Shepherd puppy named “Max.” He and Max have been together now for eight years, sniffing out drug dealers and apprehending bad guys, some of them very violent offenders.
Officer Favata has been married to his wife, Patricia, for six years. They have three children, ages 5, 4, and 1. The family enjoys things like traveling, playing sports, and trips to the park. The family of course includes K9 Max, who, approaching ten years on the job, will retire well before his handler. When that happens, Max will spend the rest of his days with the Favatas.