K-9 departments turn to community for help
They can chase down the bad guys and sniff out bombs. That is what makes K-9 units an integral part of the police force. However, many area departments are finding they can no longer afford their four-legged recruits.
Police departments across Michiana are finding the cost to purchase a canine is too high. Many are turning to the community for help.
Two-year old Zane is the newest member to hold a badge with the Indiana State Police.
“He’s specializes in tracking, obedience, active search, building searches, and six different narcotics,” says Ryan McNamara, K-9 handler for Zane.
He’s now one of four canines working for I-S-P, but it took a lot of work to get him here. McNamara had to raise 17,000 dollars on his own. Zane was paid for entirely by the community, mostly through private donations.
“Not only is it nice for us to utilize the dogs, but it’s also nice to take them to businesses and show them that this is what we are doing with their money,” says ISP Sgt. James Strong.
Turning to the public is a new reality for the Elkhart City’s Police department. The budget has always covered their K-9 department, until recently.
“Having to go to the public and get different things, if you wanna see your department advance, that is what’s going to have to happen,” says Chris Snyder, Elkhart City’s K-9 department.
In order for them to get two-year old Xantos, they had to do what I-S-P did. They knocked on doors and asked for help.
“It’s a big commitment, but the gain you get, the evidence you collect, the suspects you can catch, it’s well worth it in the long run,” says Snyder.
He says it’s a great investment in the officers, as well as the community.
Just to bring in a new K-9 team, it cost between 18 and 20 thousand dollars. The funds include buying the dog, the training, and the equipment.
To keep it up, it costs between 800 and 3500 dollars a year for food and vet bills.
Most departments say they’re able to keep the yearly costs in their annual budget.
However, it’s the initial cost to bringing in the dog, that they need the community’s help.
Families credit quick action with saving officers’ lives
Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to both officers!
__________
Sellersburg, Ind., police officer Darin Broady didn’t have the words yesterday to describe his emotions when told Thursday night that one of his two police officer brothers had been shot.
“When you get a call saying ‘Get to the hospital, it’s one of your brothers’ — I can’t tell you what that feels like,” he said.
Jeffersonville, Ind., Patrolman Keith Broady, 32, was shot once in the chest while responding to a complaint about drugs at a motel; Cpl. Daniel Lawhorn, 39, was shot twice in the leg.
Both are still listed in stable condition at University Hospital in Louisville, where yesterday their families made their first public comments since the shootings.
Lawhorn’s wife, Dana Lawhorn, credited quick action by other officers for saving her husband’s life.
The main artery in his leg was severed by a bullet, she said, and he would have bled to death if not for the quick actions by the first officers on the scene.
Lawhorn’s mother, Rebecca Croft, said her son “was moments away from perhaps not being here today” without that help.
The suspected gunman, Robert Dattilo, 37, killed himself Friday night following a day-long standoff at a Louisville house.
Meanwhile, one of two other men initially held in the shootings but released after questioning was arrested yesterday.
Kyle Bieber, 19, is charged with assisting a criminal, chief Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said.
Mull said the charge was based on Bieber allegedly assisting Dattilo in getting a room at the Motel 6 while knowing Dattilo faced arrest warrants in Hart and Jefferson counties in Kentucky.
Bieber and Vincent Windell Jr., 22, had been released Friday after convincing investigators they were not involved in the shootings.
Yesterday, the families of the two wounded officers said the men saw each other Sunday morning for the first time since they were shot.
“It was very emotional to see Broady walking into Daniel’s room … and to see my husband sitting up,” Dana Lawhorn said. “It was a good feeling.”
She recalled that her husband’s first words to her after his surgery were, “I love you all. How’s Broady?”
In the moments after her husband was shot, Dana Lawhorn said, Officer Tom Mitchell “grabbed a hold of a dog lead (borrowed from a K-9 officer at the scene) and wrapped it around his leg for a tourniquet.”
Assistant Police Chief Kevin Morlan applied pressure to the leg, she said, while Cpl. Greg Sumler talked to Lawhorn to keep him alert until emergency medical personnel could take over.
Lawhorn “would not be alive” if it weren’t for the actions of those men, Dana Lawhorn said.
Just after the shootings, Keith Broady’s other brother, Jeffersonville Detective Jason Broady, made his way to Keith’s home to rush his sister-in-law, Kristen Broady, to the hospital.
“That was probably the worst moment of my life,” said Kristen Broady, who is six months pregnant with the couple’s second child.
She said she felt some relief when she got to hospital and found her husband conscious, assuring her, “Babe, I’m OK.” But because he still hadn’t gone into surgery, she said, she remained fearful.
The families gathered in the hospital auditorium yesterday. Kristen Broady was flanked by Jason Broady, 39, and Darin Broady, 29.
Jason Broady said the family is grateful to fellow officers, emergency workers and the community for the support they’ve shown since the shootings, “especially the prayers,” he said.
Both wives were asked about the possibility of their husbands going back to work at the police department.
“I think it’s in his blood (but) it’s a long road ahead,” Kristen Broady said.
Dana Lawhorn said she and her husband haven’t talked about that yet but added, “I’ll support him with whatever he wants to do.”
Top Cops honored
Some top cops were recognized for their work in Dougherty County Monday. Sheriff Kevin Sproul recognized Officer Stephanie Walker as Jail employee of the year and Sgt. Pamela Thomas as the Sheriff’s Office employee of the year.
Police Chief Don Cheek recognized Lt. Tom Jackson and Corporal Bill Smith as his officers of the year. He also had two top guns. There was a tie between Investigator Clayton Bryant, who received the award last year, and Officer Stewart Williamson. Both had more than a 95% accuracy rate when firing their weapons.
Officer Stewart Williamson, Doughterty County
Williamson said, “Proud to have because you owe it to the citizens of Dougherty County. You owe it to your fellow men and women in law enforcement to be the best with your firearm they give you. You can’t risk misfiring or being a bad shot.”
The top gun winners offered to do a demonstration for the county commission this morning at the meeting, they, of course, declined.
Altoona police hope to curb officer assaults with Tasers
It’s a statistic hidden within the statistics.
Altoona police officers were assaulted 234 times during arrests last year, or 3.25 times for every officer on the 72-officer force, Chief Janice Freehling said. The data is not calculated in the Pennsylvania State Police Uniform Crime Reports.
The statistic is more disturbing, Freehling said, when you consider that the number of assaults more than doubled in a year – from 113 in 2007.
Because of the increased assaults, city police soon will have a new tool to deal with uncooperative suspects – the Taser X26. Altoona will become the sixth Blair County police department to use Tasers. A Taser incapacitates an individual by firing a probe that attaches to a suspect’s skin or clothes and then delivers a high-voltage, low-power electrical charge.
Freehling told the Mirror that a pilot project could begin this spring, once a policy is established and patrol corporals and sergeants are trained. Only patrol supervisors would be permitted to use the Taser.
”One of the reasons we decided to purchase the Tasers was due to the number of assaults on police officers,” Freehling said.
Tasers and similar devices fall into the same category as pepper spray on the police use of force continuum. They are used after an officer’s presence and verbal commands but before having to lay hands on a suspect, police say.
Officer Rick Benzel, Logan Township
Altoona Patrolman William Boyles, president of Mountain Lodge No. 8, Fraternal Order of Police, said he’s happy that the department is going to Tasers.
”I think it’s way overdue. With the proper training and knowing when to use it, I think the Taser would be very beneficial to us,” he said.
Boyles said a ”big city” mentality has created the atmosphere where more officer assaults occur.
”It’s just a general disrespect for officers. They’re not fearful of assaulting us anymore,” he said.
Altoona purchased four Tasers and accessories for about $5,500, Freehling said. Money came from prior donations from the Bavarian Aid Society and Cesare Battisti Club.
Logan Township police were the first county officers to use Tasers. Since 2005, they have used them 10 times, including three times last year, Logan Township Chief Ron Heller said.
”Previously, you had to physically put hands on a suspect. You can now take control from 15 to 20 feet away,” Heller said.
Greenfield Township has had Tasers since last summer, Chief Ron Givler said, and they have used them twice.
Patrol troopers and supervisors in the seven-county state police Troop G, based in Hollidaysburg, have Tasers.
Spokesman Trooper Jeff Petucci said they have been used ”numerous times,” but declined to be more specific because that is not public information.
As useful as Tasers can be, they also are controversial.
The American Civil Liberties Union wants them banned for law enforcement use. It claims that Tasers violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because their use meets the definition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The ACLU attributes the deaths of 148 people from 1999 to September 2005 to Tasers.
However, the National Institute of Justice issued a report last year stating that there is no conclusive medical evidence that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death from the direct effects of such devices.
In a perfect world, Tasers wouldn’t be needed, Heller said.
”The bottom line is, all the person has to do is comply with the officer’s commands: Put your hands behind your back and don’t resist,” he said.
Kind cop battles the mean streets
WHERE were these guys when I was in school and a troubled youth?! Ok, I wasn’t, but I would have been more than willing to be troubled!!!;)
Jason Melton might tote a holstered firearm and a pair of handcuffs, but that’s not how he fights crime in this west-side suburb recently rattled by a fatal shooting.
Deputy Jason Melton, Kearns
This Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy relies on something more effective: a high-five in the hallway, a back-at-you sense of humor and tight-knit relationships with youngsters that led a frightened sophomore suspected of shooting his fellow classmate last month to ask Melton to arrest him.
Deputy Melton’s turf: Kearns High School. That’s ground zero when it comes to preventing crime, weakening gang ties and building students’ long-term trust in law enforcement. It’s where people such as Melton are trying to make a difference to keep tragedies such as the lunch-hour killing of Esteban Saidi in late January from happening again.
Melton is no stiff-collared cop.
“Had some good bacon this week?” quipped Kearns High junior Cody Johnson as he spotted Melton last week between classes.
“Yeah, try the ham,” the deputy replied.
Melton doesn’t believe in the tough-guy approach to policing. He tried that while working security at the prison. It didn’t work. But he remembers well the change that occurred in a particularly belligerent inmate when he apologized for shouting him down during a cell search.
“It takes a man to apologize,” the prisoner told him. “And I’m sorry, too.”
That inmate, who once heckled and spit at the guards, began to greet Melton with a smile and a hello.So Melton puts a more personal touch on police work. He stands in a bustling hallway at Kearns High and razzes one student about wanting to join the fire department, puts an arm around another, and takes a shoulder punch from yet another.
His message: I’m not that different than you.
“The badge, the gun, the handcuffs put a barrier between us,” Melton said. “That barrier has to be there. They have to know that I’m going to take action if needed. But beyond that, I’m normal. I put my pants on the same way you do. I take a drink of water the same way you do. By doing that, [students] go, ‘I understand him.’ “
It makes for an up-close relationship that paid off last month after Ricky Angilau, investigators say, shot into a crowd and fatally wounded Saidi. After fleeing to a nearby home, Angilau agreed to turn himself in. But he wanted Melton to arrest him.
“I just wanted to put my arm around him and say, ‘Yeah, you screwed up bad,’ ” recalled Melton, who escorted Angilau out of the house in handcuffs. “‘You’re going to have to pay a price. But you’re not bad, your behavior was.’”
The deputy stands on the front lines in this township’s battle against crime — a campaign that has captured both headlines and crowds as parents, teachers, religious leaders and Kearns High alumni consider ways to better safeguard their streets.
The solution, Melton believes, starts with trust.
It’s about finding common ground: jawing with teens about the In-N-Out Burger coming to Draper. It’s about showing kindness: retrieving a student’s keys from her locked car. It’s about providing understanding: offering a law-enforcement class that lets students ride along with deputies and experiment with speed-checking cars.
“Kids see police officers in a positive way, instead of the stereotyped messages on television,” Principal Stephen Hess said. “They see they are people. They see they are people who care.”
From the looks of it, Melton is making headway in Kearns.
“I respect the cops here,” said Chloe Olson, a senior. “They are really cool guys. You show them respect, and they’ll show you respect.”
i’ll trade you one sergeant for two corporals
This works really well when you don’t want women to be afraid of you, too, guys! (hint, hint;)
—————–
Police officers in the western Chicago suburb of Batavia don’t want children to be afraid of them, so they are renewing an unusual effort to gain their trust; they’re handing out trading cards bearing their own pictures.
The Batavia Police Department launched its first series of cards in 1990, then another series in 2002. The latest set — 54 of them — came out recently.
Officers will hand out the trading cards and autograph them for area children, who can collect them in a competition for prizes and gift certificates.
The top 100 cardholders from each age group 5 to 8 years old and 9 to 12 years old will have their names put into a drawing for prizes on Aug. 4.
Link
New Haven Police welcome new dogs
On Saturday night, New Haven residents turned out in force to celebrate New Haven’s newest four-legged officers: Nia and Orvis.
The two canines — the city’s newest narcotics dogs — will soon be trained to sniff out illicit substances and accompany officers on patrol. The celebration, held at Christopher Martin’s Restaurant on State Street, was sponsored by the SoHu Block Watch Association and had well over 150 visitors who paid $15 in support of the K-9 Unit. Local and federal officials also turned out in support, but the use of police dogs remained a source of controversy for some in the community.
The restaurant was teeming with people at 10:30 p.m., the music blaring, drinks flowing. And throughout the night, attendees bought raffle tickets for a variety of products from local businesses, including foods, drinks — and dog biscuits.
SoHu Block Watch Association President Lisa Siedlarz was happy with the turnout and the level of enthusiasm.
“It’s great to have so many people come out and support a good cause,” she said. “It’s a good sign for the community.”
Among the more supportive attendees was Mayor John DeStefano Jr., who stayed for about 15 minutes expressing support for the K-9 Unit. The mayor was not exempt from the $15 entrance fee. Standing at the back of the restaurant with Nia, Detective Jodi Novella, one of the dog’s handlers, said she was impressed with the turnout.
Also present to support the NHPD were two FBI agents from a local office, both of whom declined to give their names.
“I think the dogs are good for the Department,” one said. “We work with them on narcotics, and this is a great tool.”
Still, despite the public support of many city officials, some New Haven residents were concerned about what the narcotics dogs suggest about New Haven.
Community activist Barbara Fair thought the dogs meant a continued break with community-friendly policing.
“I’m totally disgusted,” she said. “I would be ashamed if the community allows this.”
Fair also pointed to NHPD Chief James Lewis’ plan to put rifles in most patrol cars as a similar mistake.
“It would turn our community into a war zone,” she said. “I have never seen the need for dogs or guns in our community.”
But Police Chief Lewis defended both the narcotics dogs and rifles as smart policing tactics. For Lewis, the issue is not whether to have dogs, but where the dogs come from. Lewis pointed out that for now, the city gets its dogs from state authorities.
“[But] if we have our own dogs,” he said, “then we know what the training program is, they’re responsible to our community.”
As for the rifles, Lewis acknowledged that while they could create controversy, he said he felt the officers desperately needed them.
“They may never use ’em,” he said. “But the one time they need that rifle, everybody in this community will be glad they had it the one time they need it. So that to me is a no-brainer.”
Once trained, Novella said, the dogs will be able to sniff all types of drugs and will ultimately conduct drug searches when officers execute warrants.
While the crowd was a large one, some had thoughts other than the K-9 unit on their minds. For Bill Croucher, 40, and his friend Joel Liseio, alcohol was the main attraction.
“We’re just here to get drunk,” said Croucher. “Really drunk,” Liseio chimed in.
“I mean, I smoke pot,” Croucher said within sight of the two K-9 detectives. “I don’t really care about drug dogs.”
Nia and Orvis are expected to see active service as soon as training is completed.
Fresh Air, anyone?
I received an email from Sara at the Fresh Air Fund. They are seeking counselors for the summer.
She writes, “The Fresh Air Fund is now accepting applications for counselors for this coming summer of ’09. We hire staff members with a wide range in some pretty amazing fields. We are looking for college-aged men and women who love to work with children.”
Here is a link to check out their site and see what they’re all about.
Oyster Creek PD saving for K9 unit
The police department wants to take a bite out of crime.
Police are saving money earned from offering concealed handgun classes to first responders and from community donations to purchase a K-9 unit, Police Chief Tim Bradberry said at a meeting Thursday. The police dog could help find drugs and nab suspects who are on the run.
“It would help protect the public,” he said.
A police dog and the required training for the handler cost $8,000 to $10,000, Sgt. Rick Hempel said. So far, police have raised about $2,000.
Officers have wanted a K-9 unit for years, but budgetary constraints forced them to table their plans, Bradberry said. But this year, officers certified as concealed handgun instructors decided to donate classroom earnings to police for the dog’s purchase.
So far, eight students, all first responders, have enrolled in the course, with more on the waiting list, Hempel said.
Police hope the dog could start work by the start of summer, said Hempel, who will be the dog’s handler.
“It would be a big help to the police department,” Bradberry said. “It’s going to be dual trained. It will do tracking by work and narcotics.”
Also at the meeting, City Council acknowledged the area’s first-responders for work during Hurricane Ike. The city’s police officers and volunteer firefighters, along with Freeport first responders and some store owners who contributed to the city’s operations during the storm, received plaques and trophies from Mayor Louis Guidry.
“There have been a tremendous number of people that gave time and gave equipment, and anytime we needed some, they didn’t mind coming out and opening the door so we could get some,” Guidry said. “So tonight, we are going to recognize those people that helped us out during Hurricane Ike.
“They did a fantastic job,” he said.
State Police looking for a few good women
Minds out of the gutter, ladies!!
———–
The West Virginia State Police are looking for a few good . . . women.
According to Recruiting officer Trooper First Class Marlene Moore, the state police are looking toward creating a more balanced agency.
‘I think women just don’t consider becoming a state trooper,’ Moore recently told the Daily News. ‘It’s not something they think about, because troopers are usually men.’
That assumption is somewhat justified. The ranks of the WVSP has traditionally been a male oriented organization. When the agency began in 1919, the requirements for troopers were: ‘male, 25-45 age range, able to ride horseback, of sound constitution, good moral character, and capable of passing mental and physical examinations as prescribed the superintendent’.
However, times changed and the first female trooper, Sharon Deitz, began her career on the force in 1977.
There are currently only 17 female troopers, which is less than three percent of the total force. That is despite the fact that many of the skills women use in their day-to-day lives relate well to the situations they face as an officer. Trooper Moore shared her insight as a mother as well as a trooper.
‘Women usually run a household like I did,’ she said. ‘I had young children at the time I began my career with the WVSP. Taking care of my community is just an extension of my household. I didn’t allow havoc in my house; I got it under control. Most women are peacemakers.’
Additionally, having a female officer is preferable when conducting searches.
‘While men can do [body] searches on women, we try to have a female officer do that if one is available,’ Moore said.
Other situations arise in the course of police work in which a being a woman can be an advantage, Moore said. When a child or a woman is involved in an investigation, they sometimes relate better to a female officer.
Sometimes even hardened criminals will cooperate with a female officer more readily than a male trooper, Moore said.
‘I have come across some pretty mean men,’ she said. ‘But, sometimes they still had some respect left for a woman.’
Moore said she doesn’t feel any discrimination at the WVSP.
‘Once I went out in the field to work and they all saw that I could handle myself and knew the job well, I got their respect.’
In fact, Moore says she feels camaraderie with the men on the force.
‘I have made wonderful friends with many male officers,’ she said. ‘They respect me as a fellow trooper. They always have my back. They say they like working with me.’
Becoming an officer is not easy, Moore explained. The screening process begins with a written test. Persons who pass that then face a physical agility test. Applicants must also go through a process of medical, psychological and background checks to make it to the academy.
The resident training period for WVSP Cadets is 30 weeks. After graduation, officers work for at least three months with a training officer.
Besides the personal satisfaction that comes from being a state trooper, the WVSP has a degree program. Troopers who successfully complete academy and post academy training and probationary programs are awarded an Associate Degree in Police Science through Marshall Community College. Those troopers who successfully complete the probationary period are afforded the opportunity to continue their education and obtain the Bachelors Degree through the department’s 2+2 program through Marshall University.
Although the recruiting effort aimed toward women is no different toward recruiting men, Moore said she sees more women applying and testing. She hopes more women will realize how rewarding police work can be, even with the obvious dangers. Looking to her family, she found the support she needed to begin her career.
‘My family pitched in to help. They were very supportive. They thought it was the perfect career for me,’ she said. ‘Of course they worry, but they know I love it and I actually have fun. It made us all closer.
Share this Blog
