Shreveport considers seeking $12.4M to hire police officers
Shreveport City Council members Monday heard the police chief’s plan to apply for a $12.4 million federal grant to hire 100 more officers.
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If the board approves the resolution, Mayor Cedric Glover officially can apply for money, congressionally approved as part of President Obama’s stimulus package.
Hiring all 100 officers would take about four years, or 25 per year, Police Chief Henry Whitehorn said. “I couldn’t train 100 officers a year.”
An additional 25 each year would help keep up with the Police Department’s attrition rate through retirements and resignations. A manpower study Whitehorn directed shows the force is short about 100 officers.
The board will be unable to vote on the measure until early next month. The deadline to apply is April 14, Whitehorn said.
Shreveport will have to pay some money. After the grant money runs out, the Police Department will have to keep the new officers on its rolls for at least a year. That will cost about $4.1 million. Pre-hiring costs and equipment will cost about $1.2 million yearly.
“This is one that we obviously are enthusiastic to move forward with,” Glover said.
“It gives us the chance to be able to get our staffing levels up and to be able to get to that magic number that the chief and his staff and plan has given us.”
Glover said he plans to share with the council today more efforts to secure federal stimulus money for the city.
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder encouraged mayors to seek their share of $1 billion in grants known as the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Recovering Program.
Camden County Sheriff’s Dept. holds memorial for fallen K-9 officer
The Camden County Sheriff’s Department held a memorial for a fallen member of it’s department yesterday.
Sheriff Dwight Franklin says patrol K-9 Muk passed away March 4 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
K9 Muk
Muk worked with Sgt. Bart Sims for the last seven years. The sheriff says Muk was responsible for numerous drug seizures, apprehensions and search and rescue work.
Sheriff Franklin says Muk was a great example of how important K-9 units can be for law enforcement agencies.
“Pennies for Kenny” campaign for Great Falls policeman
The Great Falls Police Protective Association is asking you to help Detective Kenny Prigmore.
Prigmore has served the people of Great Falls for the past 16 years; he’s married and has 2 children, and in May of 2008 he was diagnosed with cancer.
Since then, he’s undergone chemotherapy, had a kidney removed, and he’s now a patient at Benefis.
A raffle is being held to pay for Detective Prigmore’s health costs; prizes include 4-wheeler, hunting rifle, and a limited edition print by Pat Halcro.
Tickets can be purchased at the Police Department, from any police officer, or at Great Falls High School. Winning tickets will drawn on May 16th.
WEB EXTRA: more information about the “Pennies For Kenny” campaign:
Kenny moved to Great Falls with his wife Julie and two children in 1993 and has been an Officer with the Great Falls Police Department for nearly 16 years.
Officer Prigmore has influenced many lives while in several positions within the Police Department to include, Patrol Officer, D.A.R.E. Officer, Law Related Education Officer, Great Falls Housing Authority Officer, and his current position as a Detective assigned to Great Falls High as a School Resource Officer.
The Great Falls Police Protective Association has received donations/gifts that are going to be raffled off. Raffle tickets are going to be sold at a price of $10.00 each or 3 for $25.00. With the purchase of a raffle ticket the ticket holder will have a chance at winning a 4-wheel drive Yamaha 350 Grizzly, a weekend getaway at the Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton, a Remington Model 700 .243, a Monte Dolack print, a limited edition print by Pat Halcro, and artwork by Andrea Pierce.
The raffle tickets in support of Pennies for Kenny can be purchased by contacting the Great Falls Police Department, any Great Falls Police Officer, Great Falls High School, and the tickets will be sold at upcoming events throughout the City. Cash donations will also be accepted and can be directed to First Interstate Bank, ATTN: Candi Howard.
If you have any questions or would like more information, call Detective Doug Mahlum at 781-8912.
Retirement Fund for Vt. K-9 Cops
Officer David Dewey is headed out to meet up with his partner at the Colchester Police Department, but this officer’s back up has four legs instead of two. Meet Tazor– a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois and full-time employee of the town’s P.D.
“I know that whatever I ask him to do he’s going to do it without question, without hesitation,” Dewey says.
And that’s the way it is for all of Vermont’s 38 police dogs. They find the good guys and the bad ones, illegal drugs, and other crime scene evidence. Their job requires rigorous training and physical prowess while on the job.
“They’re in and out of the cars all the time. They’re jumping over walls and fences, going through streams, going through thick brush and so on. The drug work– a lot of the dogs are up on their back legs scratching and digging and biting where they find the drugs,” Dewey explains.
But that effort often means significant medical issues for these dogs later in life. It can even force a dog into instant retirement when injured on the job. And the injuries are expensive to treat, sometimes cost prohibitive for their human police partners who suddenly become financially responsible for their medical care.
“I think these animals have earned a retirement and their problems that were started, precipitated by their jobs should be taken care of and it should not be up to the handler to be put in a position where they might be faced with a very serious decision whether than can keep this animal around,” says Dr. Paul Howard, of the Vermont Veterinary Surgical Center.
Loretta Walters and her husband, Kirk, agree. Unabashed dog lovers– and grief stricken after the loss of their beloved lab, Lacey, last year– the Shelburne family needed to channel their grief so they started a fund, “Lacey’s Fund” for Vermont’s police dogs.
“Logically you know your dogs are not going to outlive you, but nothing really prepares you for losing them and we miss her every day,” Loretta Walters says. “It was important to do something to just feel better about it. So she left her mark.”
It’s a mark that will help Vermont’s police dogs live out their final days in comfort. Police say it’s a priceless gift from Lacey; her family calls it Lacey’s legacy.
For more information on Lacey’s Fund and the Vermont Canine Police Association:
Lacey’s Fund
Vermont Police Canine Association
PO Box 193
Colchester, VT 05446
802-483-6228, ext. 29
www.vtpca.com
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