Faith with Works: Kayla & Ringo
Deputy K-9 Ringo and his K-9 Handler, Deputy State Fire Marshal Kayla Abdeen-Riggs
Join us this Wednesday, October 12, at 7 p.m. for the next installment of the Wednesdays Together series Faith with Works featuring Deputy State Fire Marshal Kayla Abdeen-Riggs and Deputy K-9, Ringo.
About Kayla
Kayla Michelle Abdeen-Riggs was born on May 16, 1992, in Vicksburg, Miss., to Jeffrey and Sherry Riggs. She attended elementary school, junior high school, and high school in the Vicksburg Warren School District. Kayla graduated from Vicksburg High School in 2010 and went on to attend Northwest Community College in Oxford for one year. She transferred to the University of Mississippi in 2011 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in the field of Criminal Justice in 2014.
In 2014, Kayla began her criminal justice career with the Mississippi Gaming Commission and started to work on her Master’s Degree in Criminology and Social Justice from Delta Sate University. In 2015, Kayla graduated from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy. After resigning from the Gaming Commission to focus solely on her studies, she received her Master’s in the fall of 2016.
In July of 2016, Kayla joined the United States Army in the military occupational skill of Infantry and was placed in the delayed entry program until the Army could set a date for the first integrated class of women in the infantry military occupational specialty. In December 2016, she finished basic training and advanced individual training class. She received the Infantry Blue Cord on May 18 and graduated on May 19, 2017. The following month, Kayla completed Army Airborne School in Fort Benning, Ga., and received the Army Parachutist Badge in June 2017. Kayla was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and placed in the 82nd Airborne Division where she served as a rifleman, saw gunner, team leader and head armorer in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team 2-505 Parachute Infantry Regimen, Alpha Company.
During routine mission training, Kayla suffered an injury that ultimately led to her medical retirement from the Army in November 2018. She returned to Mississippi and began a career in March 2019 with the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office as a Deputy State Fire Marshal. Her role includes investigating fires and explosions, enforcing fire codes and electronic protection laws, and serving as her agency’s explosives detection K-9 handler.
Since 2020, Kayla has been an adjunct instructor at the Mississippi State Fire Academy for the triannual Fire Investigators course where she teaches the chapters on fire deaths and explosions. After serving two terms on the board of the Mississippi Fire Investigators Association (a sub-chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators), Kayla was elected Central Vice President in October 2022.
Kayla currently resides in Jackson with her wife, Cambria Abdeen-Riggs, their Dalmatian, Marshall; K-9 Ringo; and two cats, Sardis and Thira.
About Ringo
Deputy K-9 Ringo is a nine-year-old Belgian Malinois. He was born in the Netherlands on November 18, 2012. He is certified in Explosives Detection and is assigned to K-9 Handler, Deputy State Fire Marshal Kayla Riggs.
K-9 Ringo has been a member of the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office since 2014 and completed his formal Explosives Detection training in July 2015. Deputy K-9 Ringo has more than 500 hours of formal training in the field of Explosives Detection. Deputy K-9 Ringo’s favorite activity is finding Explosives and getting his Kong toy as a reward.
Deputy K-9 Ringo has not only served the State of Mississippi, he has provided services for various United State Federal Agencies. Deputy K-9 Ringo is responsible for the safety of the Mississippi State Capitol, various college stadiums, and many live audience performances around the state of Mississippi. Deputy K-9 Ringo has provided services for United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Donald Trump Jr., and a former United States President’s campaign trail.
Deputy K-9 Ringo has also provided services in the state of Mississippi for private companies such as ESPN, SEC Sports Network, and private events that hosted celebrities such as Tim Tebow, to name one.
Deputy K-9 Ringo, known as Ringo at home, loves to work; however, off-duty Ringo loves to wind down from his busy work schedule by playing with his Dalmatian brother, Marshall, and his cat siblings Sardis and Thira. Ringo’s favorite snacks are peanut butter and popcorn. He loves to watch television, play outside, wake his handler up early, and eat lots of treats. Ringo has tons of fun in his off-duty role. He dislikes bath and does not like to be away from his handler. Ringo’s favorite seasons are fall and spring, and he does not like the Mississippi heat or the occasional cold winters. Ringo loves people and children. Not only does Ringo love his toy, he loves lots of pets and belly rubs. Ringo is extremely intelligent, loving, dedicated, talented, and hardworking. With Deputy K-9 Ringo around the house, there is never a dull moment.
