CBP K-9 Officers, Dogs Unleash Capabilities
Customs and Border Protection K-9 officers were on hand to support the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office’s participation in their “Take Your Child to Work Day”
The K-9 officers were happy to be able to share their dogs with the more than 100 children who attended the event.
“I want the children to see that although we have high-tech equipment, we still use our four-legged friends to do the job,” said Customs and Border Protection K-9 Officer Cliff Davidson. “Nothing can really replace the dog. He’s a very mobile asset who can travel around people and over luggage with ease.”
The children watched as Davidson and his narcotics detector dog, Rip, traveled through the audience. Rip was working to find narcotics and the children laughed as one parent admitted he was “carrying”. Special Agent Ed Tarver volunteered to be the “plant” in the demonstration so the audience can see how well Rip did his job.
“Watching my dad in the exhibit was pretty cool,” said Zachary Tarver, 14. “I want to adopt one of those dogs,” he added.
Rip, a black laboratory retriever, wasn’t the only star in the show. A beagle named Sheriff showed his skills at sniffing out prohibited food items. He sniffed around a row of luggage and went wild licking at a suitcase that was scented with prohibited meat. The children squealed in delight as they watched Sheriff sit still near the bag and wait for K-9 Officer William Chesser to hand out his doggie treat.
“I think this is a great way to spend time with your kids and show them what their parents do,” said CBP Chief Patrick Dowling, field K-9 trainer.
The 16-year-old national program is held annually on the fourth Thursday in April. It is officially titled “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work.”
Police officers honored at banquet
Elmira Police Office Amy L. Taft received the Mary J. Brunner Officer of the Year Award April 26 at the Elmira Police Department’s annual Pensioner’s Banquet and Wards Ceremony.
The award is given to an officer who has demonstrated proficiency in various aspects of law enforcement.
The banquet is also the time to announce the Exceptional Duty Award which this year was given to the officers who worked on the homicide at Hathorn Court last summer. Honored were: Capt. Joseph Kain, Lt. Robert Smallcomb, Sgt. William Bresser, Sgt. Matthew Sweet, Sgt. Joseph Kane, Inv. Michael Canali, Inv. Wesley Dibble, Inv. Brian Ellis, Inv. Gregory James, Inv. Patrick Griffin, Inv. Richard Weed, Inv. Patrick Fernan and Inv. Gerald Tucker.
Two officers, Carl Mustico and Joshua VanSkiver, were given Exceptional Duty Awards for their work with a suicidal man who was threatening them with a knife. They were able to disarm him without causing injury.
Other awards named Sunday night were:
Honorable Service Certificate: Sot. Eugene Walrath, Officer Zachary Stewart and officer William Solt.
Quality Service Award: Officer Michael Collins.
Educational Achievement Award: Officer Zachary Stewart or receiving his master’s degree from Norwich University in 2008.
Law Enforcement Recognition Award: given to following New York State Police officers for their assistance in the Hathorn Court homicide investigation: Senior Inv. Gary Ferguson, Inv. Patrick Englishbee, Inv. Doug Childs, Inv. Eric Hurd, Inv. Tim Randall and Inv. Matthew Lambert and Trooper Greg Vaughan.
Office Joseph C. Marrone Award: Officer Robert Taft.
Certificate of Appreciation: Mary Beth Minchin.
Rifles To Be Available For Pittsburgh Police Officers
Well, YAY. Just too bad it had to take three men dying to get this policy change.
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Pittsburgh police officers will soon have the option of carrying rifles in their patrol cars.
Pittsburgh Deputy Police Chief Paul Donaldson said the desire for increased firepower gained new urgency with the fatal shootings of three officers on April 4 in the city’s Stanton Heights neighborhood.
Each officer will undergo a three-day training period before being able to carry a rifle.
Trooper Kelley McGraw receives two ‘Life Saving Awards’ from Minnesota
Trooper McGraw might not think he’s a hero, but I bet the families of the people he saved do:)
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Although he appreciates being recognized for his actions, Minnesota State Trooper Kelley McGraw of Caledonia doesn’t feel he is a hero.
“I wasn’t doing anything I wasn’t trained or expected to do. I was at the right place at the right time. I was just a tool God used,” McGraw explained last week. McGraw received two “Life Saving Awards” from the Minnesota Highway Patrol, for two separate incidents that happened last November. In both cases, McGraw performed the necessary actions to save the lives of two Houston County residents.
The first incident happened Nov. 7, 2008 near Dresbach. McGraw was traveling north on Highway 61 near the Dresbach rest area to conduct some crash reconstruction work. As he neared the turn-off, a motorist pulled up along side his squad car, rolled down his window and told the trooper there was a car just ahead that had been driving erratically across the I-90 bridge.
The car the man was speaking about was making its way back up the on ramp and onto west-bound I-90. McGraw said the car was moving very slowly, “about seven mph when I got up behind it.
“I put on my lights and pulled up along side the car,” McGraw recalled. “I could tell right away this wasn’t an inebriated person. This was a medical issue.”
McGraw was driving a brand new squad and wondered if he should “mess up” his new squad or not. About the time he decided he needed to take action, the car bumped the guardrail and slowed to a crawl. McGraw stopped his vehicle, jumped out, ran along side the moving vehicle, opened the door, slammed the shifter into park and turned the car off.
With the medical training McGraw had received, he could tell the woman from La Crescent was having a brain bleed. He radioed for help and within a few minutes EMTs arrived.
The state trooper’s initial prognosis was correct. The woman was having a brain hemorrhage. She was whisked away to the hospital, where she was originally listed in critical condition.
She has since improved considerably, and is expected to make a full recovery.
McGraw found out later the woman experienced a blinding headache near the airport exit on I-90 just a couple miles from the Mississippi River bridge. She recalled little else until she woke up in the hospital.
According to the EMTs, the woman was very near death when they arrived at the I-90 ramp. Had it not been for McGraw’s quick thinking and actions, the woman probably wouldn’t be alive today.
Twice in three weeks
The second incident McGraw was honored for happened just north of Caledonia on Highway 76 on Nov. 26.
McGraw heard on his radio that an intoxicated person had called 911, requesting help. Caledonia Police Officer Chad Heuser responded to the call. It was decided the woman was so inebriated that she needed to be transferred to the detox center in Rochester.
Officer Heuser was en route to Rochester, traveling down Badger Hill on Highway 76 between Caledonia and Houston when he noticed the woman wasn’t breathing. He stopped his squad, checked the woman, who had slumped down between the front and back seats on the floorboards and was not responsive.
Heuser radioed in the situation and headed back towards Caledonia. McGraw took off north on Highway 76 and intercepted Hauser several miles north of town. McGraw and Heuser were able to revive the woman, who has since recovered.
“Chad did the right thing by checking on her as he was taking her to detox,” McGraw said. “It wasn’t that long ago when a person died in the back of a squad car of alcohol poisoning as he was being transported from Winona County to Rochester.”
These aren’t the first two life and death situations that McGraw has been forced to deal with during his 15-year tenure with the State Patrol. But it is the first time he has been honored by the State Patrol with Life Saving Awards.
“I really can’t say enough how humbled I am to have been recognized. I looked at the program for the awards luncheon and there were 14 other Troopers recognized for life saving acts as well. I feel very honored to have been recognized twice at the luncheon, especially when you consider the incredible things Troopers do every day all across the state. To be one of the 14 they felt deserved of recognition, very humbling!
“Again, though, I am not a hero. I was simply the ‘tool’ or ‘instrument’ God used in both those situations,” McGraw concluded.
Appreciation banquet honors police dogs, handlers
Handcuffs made of chocolate, centerpieces arranged in dog bowls and four-legged guests of honor distinguished the 7th annual Working Dog Foundation appreciation banquet from most other functions.
“The dogs are the rock stars today,” said Police Capt. David “Lou” Ferland, honorary member of the Foundation’s board of directors.
Waiting in cruisers parked behind the Jarvis Center Monday night, a dozen police dogs barked intermittently until 8 p.m. when they were led by their police handlers past an appreciative crowd of supporters. On their way back out, the officers posed with their pooches on a red carpet for press pictures
The dogs were celebrated for their ability to sniff for drugs and cadavers, find missing children and old folks, and track criminals. They can search buildings, find evidence, pursue and apprehend criminals and protect their handlers — all for a pat on the head.
For their doggedness, the canines and their uniformed handlers were feted by the Foundation which was formed as a nonprofit to raise funds to enhance police dog teams with training, bullet proof vests for the dogs and accreditation.
Former board member and retired Police Capt. Janet Champlin brought her mother, Mary Jean, in support. As she was served a glass of wine by police chaplin, Father Angelo Pappas, Champlin said, “How can I say no? It’s from a priest.”
City Zoning Enforcer Jason Page rode his Harley Police Interceptor to the event and is planning a summer ride with the Harley Owners Group in support of the Foundation. Ferland and his wife Lynda are credited with volunteer efforts, while Lou’s sister, Patti, serves as the Foundation’s executive director.
Chief Michael Magnant and Deputy Chief Len DiSesa shared a table where they chuckled over the contents of “goodie bags.” Nearby, former Portsmouth probation officer and war veteran K-9 handler, Toby Weir, wore his “Vietnam Dog Handler Association” jacket.
At the end of the evening, Portsmouth Officer Scott Pearl relinquished his honor of handler of the year to Officer Adam Shaw and K-9 Proxy from the Wells, Maine police department. A special honor went to Officer Keith Mackenzie and K-9 Fina from the Rochester Police Department in the category of narcotic detection case of the year. Patrol case of the year award went to Officer Steve Tenney and K-9 Laika of Keene’s PD.
Way to go, Var!!
First K-9 in SPD history to receive Purple Heart
Var, the Spokane Police dog shot and injured by a car theft suspect March 17, will be awarded a Purple Heart at the Spokane City Council meeting Monday night. Var’s handler returned fire killing the suspect, 22-year-old Johnnie Longest. Var had been brought out of retirement to fill a void in police dogs when he was shot.
A police committee decided April 8 to award the medal to Var. Var and his handler, Danny Lesser, will accept the award at the meeting around 6 p.m.
This will be the fifth Purple Heart awarded by the Spokane Police Department and the first to a K9.
LINK: http://www.khq.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?
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