Two dogs put Longmont K-9 Unit back in service

When lining up their new patrol partners, Longmont Police Officers Mike Kimbley and Tim Madigan were looking for a host of important attributes.

Solid personality matches. Fast learners. Tireless workers. Enthusiastic biters.

Longmont Police Officer Mike Kimbley plays ball with his new K-9 partner Andor, a Belgian Malinois, on Wednesday at Sandstone Ranch in Longmont. Joshua Buck/Times-Call

That’s right. “Enthusiastic biter.” The officers didn’t want their new partners — two young Belgian Malinois K-9 police dogs — to be the type that might allow a suspect to escape the jaws of an arrest.

Both officers feel Max, 2, and Andor, 1, were excellent choices to patrol the streets of Longmont at their sides and, perhaps, act like pups in their respective homes.

“They get into stuff,” Madigan said. “You just kind of have to stay on top of it.”

He said the dogs are enthusiastic across the board, but they live for work.

“They love searching for dope. They love tracking. They love apprehension,” he said. “It is like playing for them.”

If a visit to Sandstone Ranch on Wednesday is any indication, they also love tennis balls. Max’s luminous yellow eyes flashed as he chased the one tirelessly and Andor, who has a darker coat than Max, was desperate for the ball when he was allowed out of the police SUV for a stretch and a romp.

Max joined Kimbley, a 17-year Longmont police veteran, and Andor joined Madigan, who has worked in Longmont for 10 years, on their patrols about a month ago. They all trained together in a six-week K-9 and handler program in Denver, Ind., which amounted to an estimated $24,000 investment for the department to purchase both Holland-bred dogs and train the officers to handle them. The Longmont Police K-9 Unit has been dormant since K-9 Izzy retired in 2007 after he was injured while trying to stop a fleeing suspect, who fought the dog and flipped him over in the fight. Izzy in November had a spinal surgery to correct the damage that was slowly costing the German shepherd the use of his hind legs and causing him constant pain. He is recovering well, according to Detective Bruce Vaughan.

While Longmont was without its own unit, Longmont officers had to rely on Boulder County Sheriff’s Office dogs. The office has a long-standing and well-established K-9 unit, but they respond to Longmont based on availability and often from significant distance. Kimbley and Madigan said fellow officers have enjoyed the use of the dogs since they joined the department. The K-9 dogs assist with tasks like finding drugs, tracking suspects, and detaining suspects.

“The guys have been keeping us busy,” Madigan said, estimating that they have “deployed” the dogs one to two times per shift since returning from Indiana.

The officers and K-9s are still training, though. Madigan and Kimbley trained for seven months with Westminster officers to learn the ropes of handling before they went to Indiana to pick up and train with their dogs. They return weekly and even helped to arrest a Longmont man who was stopped by the Westminster officers on I-25 while they were training together. The young dogs alerted their handlers to drugs in the man’s car. The officers estimated that they found three-quarters of a pound of cocaine in the car and then more at the man’s Longmont apartment. All together, the arrest credited the dogs with helping to take nearly a pound of cocaine off of the streets.

Madigan and Kimbley both said the work load, given the 24-7 nature of their partnerships, is far more than they expected, but they are glad they signed up.

“It is the best job in the department without a doubt,” Kimbley said.

Because training is still under way, Madigan and Kimbley are looking for any business owners willing to allow them to train inside buildings during off hours. The handlers hide small amounts of drugs for the dogs to find. They are “passive alert” trained, so they do not scratch or damage property when they find a cache, but instead point with their noses, Madigan said.

We’re looking for “any kind of environment the dogs might be put into,” Kimbley said.

Anyone who is interested in working with the officers should call Madigan at 303-774-4300, Ext. 4050.

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Louisiana State Trooper who helped save three from burning car returns to work

A state police trooper is headed back to work Monday after recovering from moderate burns, which he suffered from saving three people in a Christmas Day traffic accident.

State Trooper David Easley, along with an off-duty Texas firefighter, pulled three people out of the front of a burning GMC sports utility vehicle. They were not able to save a woman and two children, who died in the back seat of the car.

The accident happened Christmas night on I-10 in Laplace near the Belle Terre exit. An 18-wheeler, police said, swerved in an attempt to avoid a crash with two vehicles, which were traveling slowly in the right lane due to a flat tire. The 18-wheeler then struck the rear of the SUV, forcing it into the back of another car. The SUV caught fire soon after.

State Trooper David Easley managed to pull the three out, but suffered burns and smoke inhalation in the process.

Courtesy photo by Louisiana State Police State Trooper David Easley helped save three people's lives Christmas Eve after their SUV was hit on the interstate and erupted in flames.

One of the surviving victims in the accident, Barbara Dickerson called Easley an angel, “with a lot of loving heart who said that I’ve got to get somebody out of here.” You can find out more information about Easley’s rescue here.

The family has asked for your help in paying for the funeral costs of the two young children. If you would like to contribute to the memorial fund, you can do so at any Liberty Bank. The account is in their mother’s name—Candace Walker Memorial Fund.

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Troopers assigned to Jackson

Jonathan Comer and Chad Wolf, unbeknownst to each other, lived with their wives and children on the same street in Waterford.

They met while at the 121st Michigan State Police trooper recruit school, graduated this month and now are assigned to the Jackson post as the office’s first new troopers since 2004.

Before their lives ran together, they grew up in different states and pursued varying careers.

Comer, 31, is a Battle Creek native who graduated from Central Michigan University with a recreation degree in 2002 and worked for about six years in sales at Guardian Alarm, a securities consultant in Southfield.

Wolf, 31, grew up in northwestern Illinois and attended Pensacola Christian College in Florida, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in youth ministries in 2001. For the past seven years, he worked with troubled teenagers at Promise Village Home for Children in Davisburg.

Both hoped for a career with the state police.

“It’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time,” Wolf said as he and Comer sat Friday at the post. Wolf’s father is an Illinois state trooper.

Comer and Wolf began working Dec. 22 and will participate in a 17-week field-training program that pairs them with experienced troopers who help them apply their studies to real-life police work.

The two graduated recently from the trooper school, the first one the state has funded in about four years. It was a rigorous 19 weeks, the recruits said.

“You mentally prepare yourself. You think you are ready, but it is very difficult. They train you well,” Wolf said.

It is challenging “mentally, physically and emotionally,” Comer said.

Of the 101 men and women who began the school, 83 graduated.

Now, the two hope to successfully get through a probationary period, sell their homes and move their families to the Jackson area.

Both are married. Wolf has two daughters, and Comer has a son.

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Changes in works for Green County Sheriff’s office

Don’t call it a “department.” It’s the Greene County Sheriff’s Office from here on out.

In coming weeks, you’ll see the change, announced by Sheriff-elect Jim Arnott on Monday, on the office’s patrol cars and badges.

The change reverses Sheriff Jack Merritt’s 2001 decision to use “department” rather than “office” and comes at a low cost, Arnott said. The car logos are covered by state grant money, and the badges come with a warranty he believes will actually save money.

“I feel it’s a direct representation of the office of sheriff, since that’s what I was elected to,” Arnott said of the name change. He later conceded: “It’s not the biggest deal.”

Of greater import, the incoming sheriff said, are several structural changes to the office, which will take effect when Arnott takes the helm on New Year’s Day.

He’s eliminated the positions of chief deputy –which he currently holds — and jail director. The money for those jobs will pay the salaries of two newly named majors in the sheriff’s office.

Phil Corcoran, a 15-year department veteran and current captain of detectives, has been named major of operations. He’ll oversee investigations, patrol and administrative services at the sheriff’s office.

Kevin Spaulding, currently sergeant of administration, will be major of support, taking control of the jail, property and evidence storage and the office’s reserve unit.

The majors will each make more than $10,000 less than Arnott’s current salary.

The incoming sheriff also eliminated, by name, all detective positions at the department, reclassifying current detectives as sergeants and giving them a pay raise. The salary of the jail’s safety and sanitation officer has been slashed.

The result of the restructuring, Arnott said, is an increase in overall employee compensation of $934 a year.

He said the changes help implement his campaign pledge to increase the sheriff’s ability to redistribute staff “without having to promote or demote.”

“We’ve had situations where someone’s been in a position for over 20 years and did not have the ability to move to a different assignment without getting demoted or actually getting a promotion.” Arnott said. “We came up with a structure that will work.”

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K. Spaulding

Ohio County’s New Sheriff Sworn In

After eight years as Ohio County’s Chief Deputy, Pat Butler will soon move into the department’s top seat, as the county’s sheriff.

He’s walking into the new position at a time when budgets across the board are tight and he acknowledges it will be one of the obstacles he’ll face as sheriff.”

You have to be prudent with your finances and you have to be responsible and respectful when you ask for raises for your employees. And they have to understand what situation the county’s in and the whole country’s in,” he said.

Butler said he’ll focus heavily on training, not only for the deputies, but for the tax office.“We want to update the tax side, as far as being computer and citizen friendly as far as their accounts are concerned and taxes,” he said.

Butler also said he’ll continue to effort what current Sheriff Tom Burgoyne has done, detaining illegal aliens, and getting drugs off the streets.

Butler reflected on his tough campaign schedule, late nights, early mornings and seemingly endless appointments and said it all paid off in one moment Monday.

“It’s kind of surreal because I never imagined eight years ago I’d be running for sheriff but I’m glad I did,” Butler said.

He’ll take office Jan. 1.

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New Romeo police chief rolls out changes

As leadership of the Romeo Police Department transfers hands, residents will notice a few changes, including the department’s first detective and a more visible police presence.

“This is going to help residents know their officers are out there doing their job,” said Gregory Paduch, the department’s new police chief. Paduch, 45, replaces Jim Vanderlinden, 57, who retired last week after 34 years with the department.

Paduch has worked for the Romeo Police Department for 18 years. Prior to that, the Navy veteran spent a couple years working as a public safety officer for the University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit.

One of his first actions as police chief was assigning each officer an in-house role, such as firearms instructor and ordinance officer. The eight-member department also got its first detective, Sandra Sokolnicki, who Paduch promoted from officer last week. Sokolnicki will be in charge of following up on police reports, which will give patrolling officers more time out on the roads.

“If we can get a couple more arrests, I’ll consider it a success,” he said.

Vanderlinden said in his time with the department, he watched the village of Romeo grow from 2,500 residents in 1973 to about 4,000, while growth also boomed in nearby Bruce and Washington townships. “I guess I didn’t realize how much impact you can make on a community,” said Vanderlinden, who spent the past 14 years as chief. “We do more than just answer complaints for crimes. We were doing community policing before it became popular.”

Paduch said he wants to build on Vanderlinden’s view of community policing by urging his officers to get out of their patrol cars more and talk with residents and business owners. He has been making the rounds himself at businesses in the village.

“I want to introduce myself and see if they have any concerns with the Police Department or anything else,” he said.

Denise Hicks, owner of Denny’s Golden Shears on Main Street, said she’s pleased Paduch was named the new chief. She’s also looking forward to getting to know the police officers better.

“This is a small town and I think it’s important for the officers to get out,” she said. “They can nod, smile and they can certainly get to know people.”

Paduch said other plans coming down the pipeline include placing an officer in the elementary schools a couple times a week.

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New year brings new FWPD policy

The new year will bring a new policy for Fort Wayne police officers.

After months of discussion, the police chief says officers will have to pay to drive their police cruisers when they’re off duty.

This decision is not sitting well with union leaders.

Chief Rusty York put the measure on the table back in early June.  At the time, gas was around 4-bucks a gallon, and the department was looking for ways to cut costs.

The union that represents police officers looks at the idea as an unfair reduction in wages.

Leaders are not happy about how the chief went about enacting the new policy, either.

$25 a paycheck: Starting the first week of January, that’s how much Fort Wayne police officers will pay to drive their patrol cars when they’re off duty.

“Do i like it? No. Do the officers like it? No. It’s just a reality. A reality for most police departments who have take home fleets,” said Chief of Fort Wayne Police, Rusty York.

York estimates the move could save the city big bucks: as much as $250,000 a year, in a time when budgets are tight. Opponents of the plan say there is no way to put a dollar figure on the crime that is prevented by having off-duty officers on the roads in their patrol cars.

Detective Shane Hopkins says, “Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York estimates the move could save the city big bucks: as much as 250-thousand dollars a year, in a time when budgets are tight. Opponents of the plan say there is no way to put a dollar figure on the crime that is prevented by having off-duty officers on the roads in their patrol cars.”

Hopkins is the president of the the Policeman’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents Fort Wayne officers. Apart from disagreeing over the take home car policy. Hopkins doesn’t think Chief York went about enacting the policy correctly, by giving each police officer a sign up sheet.

“At any point in time when you go to an individual and pull them aside and discuss increasing or decreasing their pay in their compensation and that individual belongs to a union, well, then it’s in violation of collective bargaining,” said Hopkins.

“We do not think this is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement,” said Chief York.

York says it more of a moot point, because he didn’t have to offer the officers a choice at all. The take home cars are not written into the officers contracts.

The matter is now in arbitration. York says the result will not impact the policy at all.

The policy goes into effect the first week of January. Officers will see the deductions out of their paycheck the second week of the year.

Annually, the amount the officers will pay for their cars for personal use is about the same you would spend on a year of home owner’s insurance, or two months of groceries.

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Escondido PD gets more mileage out of cars, cops

There’s only one police department in the county where all officers can take home the patrol cars they drive, authorities say.

That department is in Escondido, where the perk is used for recruiting job applicants and officers say they are more likely to make arrests or perform other duties if they drive a marked car during their daily commute.

“I do make stops on a somewhat regular basis on my way home or on my way to work,” Officer Tom Venable said.

At many other departments, only some officers can take home their vehicles. They could include officers who care for police dogs, traffic officers who drive motorcycles, and detectives and officers who are on call. Departments might have a mileage limit for those situations, however.

In a program established in 1982, the Escondido department assigns patrol cars to all officers and allows them to commute up to 10 miles. The department pays all gasoline and maintenance costs on the vehicles.

For the past several years, the department’s detectives, negotiators and members of its Tactical Operations Unit – or SWAT team – have been allowed to commute up to 40 miles, with a few driving farther than that.

The issue of officers driving farther than 10 miles was raised during the most recent City Council campaign. Olga Diaz, who was elected to the council Nov. 4, suggested the city should reconsider the policy as it looks for ways to trim spending in a tight budget year.

“The expanded mileage sort of crept in there,” said Diaz, who is married to an Escondido police lieutenant.

Diaz said she supports allowing officers to commute up to 10 miles, but commuting farther became an obvious expense when gas prices skyrocketed this year.

Escondido police say the program generally allows them to respond faster to emergencies, such as last year’s wildfires, because they don’t have to go to the department’s station on West Grand Avenue first.

Venable said he arrived faster to a running gunbattle with a burglar in 2001 because he had his own patrol car.

“I was able just to leave directly from my house and go to the shooting scene,” he said. “That easily saved 45 minutes to an hour.”

Officers said they take better care of their cars, too, with patrol cars sometimes lasting more than 10 years.

“You take care of something more if you treat it as if it’s your own,” Venable said.

Lt. Bob Benton, a department spokesman, said officers are making traffic stops on a daily basis, “enforcing laws that normally they wouldn’t do because they’re in their personal cars.”

Benton said other agencies with similar programs are the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Visalia police departments.

According to a February city report, Escondido could save nearly $122,000 a year by setting the mileage limit back to 10 miles for all officers. The report estimated that 55 officers who commute farther than 10 miles one way drive more than 2,700 miles a day and more than 569,000 miles a year. That includes K-9 officers.

Detectives account for more than $40,000 of the total, according to the report. Negotiators and Tactical Operations Unit members account for more than $56,000, it states. The city report assumed gas prices of $3 per gallon.

Some officers commute nearly 40 miles – or beyond. The report states that one detective commutes more than 55 miles, two negotiators commute more than 40 miles and two detectives commute 39.99 miles.

A policy change made about six months ago says new officers can commute no farther than 10 miles, said acting Sgt. Eric Skaja, president of the Escondido Police Officers Association.

Skaja said members of the department’s Tactical Operations Unit, who can still commute beyond 10 miles, would give up the perk if it meant keeping the team from being cut in a tough budget year.

“Everybody realizes how bad the economy is,” Skaja said.

Officers say it is a powerful recruiting tool, as they often live outside the cities they patrol.

“That was one of the main things that drew me here was having your own car,” Officer Matt Dixon said.

Dixon commutes from Riverside County with another officer who is a negotiator. In 2005, before they could commute in a patrol car more than 10 miles, they encountered an accident north of Escondido – on Interstate 15 south of Deer Springs Road – about 7 a.m.

Dixon and two other officers rushed to assist, and a passer-by had a fire extinguisher to help put out the blaze in the sport utility vehicle. One of the officers wrapped his face with a flannel shirt to get close to the burning SUV.

A woman in her 20s survived the crash, but a man didn’t. Dixon said he talked with the other officers afterward about how it would have been easier to assist if they had been in a patrol car.

“In my car, I have Nomex gloves, things to cover my face, all kinds of tools,” he said. “We all said it right away.”

Dixon said he has helped other motorists, such as a driver who had a flat tire a few months ago, since he has been commuting home in a patrol car.

“Basically, the department’s getting another hour of service out of me for free,” he said.

Officers aren’t just taking home the department’s Ford Crown Victorias, its traditional police cruisers. Benton said the department also has two Dodge Chargers, a Chevy Camaro, a Chevy Tahoe and 42 unmarked cars including Chevy Impalas and Malibus.

Officer Ryan Fien, a police dog handler who has been driving one of the Chargers for about a year and a half, said it handles well, offers more room than the Crown Victoria and hasn’t required repairs.

About a year ago, Fien was driving home to Temecula during a heavy rain after his shift ended at 4 p.m. On his way, he encountered four accidents on Interstate 15 in San Diego County and stopped to assist at all of them.

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Whittier Police officers deliver toys to those in need

Santa, assisted by Whittier Police officers, delivered about 200 toys Thursday to children at two hospitals and a battered women’s shelter.

Santa arrived at the Whittier Police Station on a Harley Davidson. He got a police escort when he dropped by Whittier Hospital Medical Center, Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital and the Women’s and Children’s Crisis Shelter.

Whittier Police spokesman Jason Zuhlke said the department and its officers feel honored to help Santa with such a worthy cause.

The toys came from a toy drive conducted by the police department and the Salvation Army Whittier Corps. The Salvation Army will also coordinate distribution of toys to families in the Whittier area.

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C.O.P.S. Ministry connects police officers nationwide with prayer partners

Many of us have difficult jobs. But how many of us get up and go to work every morning wondering if we might be involved in a drug raid or a shoot-out? How many of us have to chase our “clients” through an alley?

But for police officers, these are only a few of the possibilities involved in their work. A ministry based in East Tennessee focuses on those men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line daily to serve others.

Citizens Obediently Praying for Safety, or C.O.P.S., is a nationwide, nondenominational, nonprofit organization that is geared toward praying on a daily basis for the safety and well-being of all law-enforcement officers, including jailers and 911 dispatchers, and expressing appreciation for them. C.O.P.S. currently has nearly 400 officers in 32 states on its list requesting prayer. The organization is in need of more families to pray.

C.O.P.S. was started in 2003 by Officer Randy Myers in Oak Ridge. He has been in law enforcement since 1990, working as a police chaplain since 1992, and is currently serving with the Oak Ridge City Police Department.

Myers started the C.O.P.S. Ministry for police officers because he understands the burdens they face on a daily basis. He wanted to be able to help police officers and personnel across the nation in time of need and to encourage them along the way.

“As a fellow law-enforcement officer, I know all too well the dangers, stress, and lack of respect that officers receive on a daily basis from the negative side of society. Not all citizens are that way, and we at C.O.P.S. Ministry want to get the word out that we care about and support law enforcement officers,” Myers says.

Since its inception, the ministry has grown to include 12 volunteer staff members, adding seven of them in the past year.

C.O.P.S. Ministry connects a family in the community with a law enforcement officer who has requested prayer for a period of 12 months. The family is asked to pray for him or her and to send cards and letters of appreciation throughout the year, especially at special times such as birthdays and holidays. At the end of the year, the officer’s name may be given to another family. Families who have been praying will receive another officer for the next year if they want to continue.

An emergency prayer chain also has been established for officers and their families. If there is an emergency or a need, this chain is available for prayer 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

C.O.P.S. Ministry enrolls officers and families willing to pray at the beginning of each calendar year, so the time is now to enroll if you are either an officer desiring prayer or a family willing to take on the task of praying daily for one officer. To do so, go to www.copsministry.org and fill out the form online.

C.O.P.S. Ministry also conducts seminars at churches and civic organizations to educate the public about the life of a law-enforcement officer. Churches or organizations interested in a seminar can contact the organization.

The ministry also needs volunteers to help send out several hundred letters to the praying families and keep up with bookkeeping for tax statements. To contact them, go to www.copsministry.org.

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