KENNEWICK — Criminals in the Tri-Cities will have a harder time trying to hide their drugs with Sawyer on duty. Sawyer is the Benton County Sheriff’s Office’s new drug dog, and he’s already proven to be effective. “We have been deployed twice and found what we were looking for,” said Deputy Joe Mehline, who is Sawyer’s handler. The sheriff’s office has been without a K9 unit since their last dog, Jago, retired about six years ago. Cmdr.