Manalapan K-9 team comes to a sad end

It is the end of an era for a team of police superheroes in Manalapan.

Since 2001, two K-9 units have been a familiar sight in town as police dogs Rocco and Max and their respective partners, Patrolman Frank Krause and Patrolman William Martin, were often on the scene ready to keep residents safe.

When Max retired due to medical issues in December 2007, the Manalapan police force felt the loss, but it still had Rocco. That changed on Dec. 17 when Rocco had to be put to sleep.

Police Chief Stuart Brown explained that Rocco was diagnosed with the beginning stages of degenerative myelopathy (DM) in October 2008.

According to an article posted on the Internet by veterinarian Dr. Nancy Scanlan, DM is a debilitating autoimmune disease commonly seen in the German shepherd breed of dogs, which is what Rocco was. It is compared to multiple sclerosis in humans. In autoimmune diseases the patient’s autoimmune system attacks some parts of its own body. In DM the nerves that lead to the muscles are the target, causing muscle weakness and lack of sensation in the dog’s hindquarters.

Krause remembered his last day on the job with Rocco.

“We were getting ready to leave to go to the Union City Sheriff’s Office for Rocco’s semi-annual recertification, Dec. 12, which was also Rocco’s 10th birthday, and I noticed that he was walking funny. He stumbled with his back legs and I took him to Dr. Farber’s office,” Krause said.

Dr. Alan M. Farber, a veterinarian in Manalapan, donated his services to take care of K-9 officers Rocco and Max.

After being seen by Farber, Rocco attended his recertification event later that same day and was able to participate in all the activities scheduled, including criminal apprehension, building searches and evidence tracking.

Unfortunately, the dog’s condition deteriorated considerably over the next five days and it was decided that Rocco would be euthanized.

“It was a shock, a big loss,” Krause said about losing Rocco. “I was with him more than my family. He was part of my family and he came to work with me, too. We were together 24 hours a day, seven days a week for nine years.”

Had the disease not progressed so quickly, Rocco’s career on the Manalapan police force would have come to a close at the end of January because that is when Krause is scheduled to retire. Rocco would have retired with his partner.

Krause, 47, grew up in Freehold and has been a police officer since the age of 18 when he began working with the Manasquan Police Department. He was a police officer in Freehold Borough for more than 10 years before joining the Manalapan police force, of which he was a part for 15 years. In addition, Krause is a volunteer firefighter for Manalapan Fire Company No. 1, Millhurst.

Krause believes that Rocco would not have enjoyed retirement because he enjoyed working so much.

“On vacation he was fine,” Krause explained, “but as soon as I got my uniform on, he jumped up. He loved to work; he lived for that. He knew when the police department phone rang and he’d run around. He couldn’t wait to get out. If it rang at night, he’d wake up everyone.”

Rocco was donated to the Manalapan Police Department in 2000 when he was 13 months old.

“He was someone’s pet, but he was very aggressive and they donated him to be a police dog,” Krause said. “It was either they donate him or put him down.”

In January 2000 Krause was assigned to Rocco and in February they began a 16- week course at a K-9 patrol school at the Union County Sheriff’s Office K-9 facility. They graduated on June 16, 2000.

Krause took Rocco to his home.

“We kept him crated for the first few months,” he said. “We had young kids. They bonded eventually. We took him around when the kids were sleeping and let him sniff them. Eventually the little ones could take food from the bowl and do anything and Rocco didn’t mind.

“When Rocco got out of school he was not the same dog,” Krause said. “He knew it was OK to bite, but only when I told him to, or if someone was hurting me or another officer.”

In May 2001 Krause and Rocco graduated from a narcotics detection school at the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

Krause explained that Rocco was crosstrained and certified in patrol and narcotics detection. He could not be a bomb-sniffing dog because the reaction to finding narcotics is aggressive and involves biting and scratching, which could be dangerous when searching for bombs. Bomb dogs are trained to sit when they find explosives. Police dogs can either be one or the other.

Rocco and Krause answered 809 calls for service in Manalapan and surrounding towns and counties during their time together.

“I spent the last third of my career doing K-9,” Krause said. “K-9 was the best. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. It was fun and different every day. We were always involved in doing some serious stuff.”

During their career together, Krause and Rocco were assigned to a presidential security detail when President George W. Bush visited Plainfield in April 2001.

Rocco and Krause performed numerous K-9 demonstrations at Manalapan Day every June as well as at the Manalapan Fire Company No. 1 open house and blood drive every October. They also gave demonstrations for other groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Rocco’s work led to numerous criminal arrests. He also located missing persons including children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

A number of the suspects Rocco and Krause apprehended were found guilty of the crimes with which they were charged and were sentenced to state prison.

One of the team’s most memorable calls was on March 13, 2007 when Krause and Rocco were summoned to a burglary in progress at a hardware store in Jamesburg, Middlesex County. The suspect was still inside the store. Officers surrounded the building and ordered the suspect to come out. When the suspect did not comply with that order, Krause gave the standard police warning as required by the Attorney General’s office, indicating that a police K-9 was going to be released if he did not surrender and warning the suspect that the dog would find him and bite him if he did not surrender.

When the suspect did not come out, Rocco was unleashed and went in to apprehend him. Rocco located the suspect hiding behind some boxes in the store. Krause gave verbal commands ordering the suspect to come out of hiding. The suspect then assaulted Krause and kicked Rocco. Rocco got a small cut over his eye; the only time in his career that he was ever injured. Rocco engaged the suspect and because of his handler protection skills Krause and the other officers involved were not injured.

Another memorable incident that Krause relayed was when he and Rocco were riding through Freehold Borough while off duty on Oct. 24, 2005 and came upon a large disturbance at a social club. Krause observed police officers being attacked in a violent manner by partygoers outside the club. Some of the police officers were on the ground. Krause and Rocco saved their fellow police officers from inherent danger.

The Freehold Borough Police Department issued a commendation and a letter of thanks to Krause and Rocco for taking action that “may have prevented other officers from being injured or worse.”

A letter addressed to Brown from Freehold Borough Police Chief Michael Beierschmitt said Krause and Rocco’s “presence and actions were paramount in bringing the incident under control.”

In speaking about the effort put forth by Krause and Rocco, Brown said, “During their almost nine years of tandem service to our community, Patrolman Frank Krause and K-9 Rocco exemplified the tenets of canine duty to law enforcement through their many lifesaving and criminal apprehension successes. As our last remaining K-9 unit, their loss represents a significant void that will take a considerable time to fill. They will be tremendously missed.”

Brown said he would like to replace the Manalapan K-9 unit sometime in 2009 and said he has a considerable portion of the funding put aside for those purposes, but he does not currently have the manpower resources to send an officer for training.

Martin is still working for the police department without his former partner Max, but is not interested in acquiring another dog.

“The main issue is having enough personnel available to cover the lengthy vacancy created when the officer and his dog leave for training,” Brown explained. “With the recent hiring of two replacement officers earlier this month, I’m cautiously anticipating this could actually be possible as early as the second quarter of this year.”

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