Twenty-eight officers and dogs from California police, sheriff and probation agencies, including three deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, recently participated in the 21st annual Redondo Beach Police Canine Trials.

The event tests competitors' skills in disciplines related to canine law enforcement, such as obedience, agility and searching.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department deputies won the team championship. Team members were Senior Dep. Brian Slominski and his K-9 partner Ahron, Senior Dep. Dean Worthy and Balu, and Dep. Scott Duffner and Hanno. The team championship is calculated by averaging the overall scores of all the handlers on each team.

Slominski and Ahron placed third in the open division and second in the narcotic building search. The open competition is for dogs who have competed in three or more competitions. Slominski has been a canine handler for four years. Ahron won second place in last year's open division and third place in the novice division in 2006.

Worthy and Balu placed third in this year's novice division. It was their first competition.

Duffner and Hanno placed third in the manwork category. Manwork consists of muzzle attack, call off and suspect apprehension.