Nashville K-9 Officer Greg Parker Retires After 21 Years

Officer Rebecca Castleman steps into the K-9 role alongside Apollo as Parker leaves the Nashville Police Department.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Dogs

Nashville K-9 Officer Greg Parker Retires After 21 Years

Nashville Police Department K-9 Officer Greg Parker is retiring after 21 years with the department. Officer Rebecca Castleman is taking over his K-9 role with his current partner, Apollo.

Why it matters

The transition keeps the department's K-9 program running while passing a long-established partnership to a new handler. It shows how the department continues its canine work when experienced officers leave.

Greg Parker has served 21 years with the Nashville Police Department, and his first K-9 partner was named Rico. Apollo is the current K-9 partner that Castleman will work with, and the source gives no further breed or training details.

The players

Greg Parker

Nashville Police Department K-9 officer retiring after 21 years of service with the department and a long-time handler of police dogs.

Rebecca Castleman

Nashville Police Department officer taking over the K-9 role and partnering with the dog Apollo.

Nashville Police Department

The municipal law enforcement agency for Nashville, Tennessee, which runs the city's K-9 unit.

The details

Castleman will take over the K-9 position alongside Apollo and plans to build a bond with him similar to the one Parker shared with his dogs. The change is described as the start of the next chapter for the department's K-9 program.

November 2026: Castleman steps into the K-9 role this month.

Handler Transition

The Nashville Police Department K-9 unit continues operating through this handoff, with Castleman assuming the role and partnering with Apollo. The change reflects how the unit maintains continuity as individual handlers retire.

For Nashville residents, the handoff means the city's police K-9 unit keeps working with an experienced partner. The change is mostly internal to the department and affects day-to-day policing only in terms of who handles Apollo.

The takeaway

Long-term handler partnerships are central to how police K-9 units operate, and transitions like this one show how departments keep those teams going after a retirement.