Injured trooper honored in Yarmouth
Signs honoring state police Trooper Ellen Engelhardt will soon stand near Route 6, reminding those who pass by of a career dedicated to public service.
But the real tribute to Engelhardt was in the hearts of colleagues and strangers who stood shoulder to shoulder during a ceremony today to remember her compassion and dedication.
An estimated 100 people, mostly police, crowded into a state highway garage for the ceremony held just off the Mid-Cape Highway, only yards from where Engelhardt spent many years directing morning rush hour traffic.
They were there for the unveiling of signs bearing Engelhardt’s name that will stand along the Exit 7 on and off ramps – a rare tribute to a living police officer.
Engelhardt, 55, was gravely injured six years ago when a drunken driver going nearly 100 miles an hour slammed into the back of her patrol car while it was stopped in a break-down lane on Route 25.
Although she survived, the injuries – including a traumatic brain injury – left Engelhardt unable to communicate or care for herself. She lives today in a specialized care facility, frequently visited by family.
“I didn’t know her so to speak,” said South Dennis resident Maureen Spencer. “I used to see her every morning when I drove to work (in Hyannis). Then one time my car broke down in the winter, and she let me sit in her cruiser to stay warm while I waited for my husband to come pick me up.”
It was the memory of this one simple act of kindness that led Spencer to attend today’s ceremony. “When she was first hurt, it just broke my heart,” Spencer said. “Until I met her, I’d never really had any interaction with police. She made police human for me.”
Peoria Police tackling ‘dog days’ of summer
The Peoria Police Department is using technology to help their canine units beat the “dog days” of summer.
K-9 officers at the police department have been outfitted with small devices that constantly inform them of the inside temperature of their vehicles.
When the temperature in the car gets around 84 degrees, the officer is notified, the back windows of the car roll down, and fans turn on to cool off the dog.
It’s all in an effort to keep these furry members of the squad safe.
“They’re every bit as important as we are,” says Doug Burgess, public information officer for the department. “They’ve got a job to do and we expect them to be able to perform it when we need them and therefore, we try to protect them as much as possible.”
The police department started utilizing this technology when they bought their new K-9 cruisers last year.
K-9 – A team that is hard to beat
Canines have been “man’s best friend” for centuries, providing comfort and protection throughout their relationship with their two-legged companions. Few can compete with the keen senses of well-bred dogs. With proper training and discipline, K-9 units have served to maintain peace and aid in combat. Pictographs from ancient times illustrate the symbiotic nature of dogs and man in battles as warriors, sentinels and messengers. Above all, these fiercely loyal companions often were a source of inspiration and love that transcended a particular hostile encounter.
In civil security situations, use of animals is common and within the ranks of police forces, mounted patrols and K-9 units are considered vital to a functional compliment of sworn officers. Search and control situations often are not only augmented by but can be dependent upon the agility and remarkable sensitivity of canine companions.
Local law enforcement agencies recognize the advantages of K-9 units and such patrols have been a common practice and specially-trained officers and dogs work together throughout their careers. Dogs are not just patrol partners, but live with their human companion and their families, often retiring with them as well. Human officers and their canine counterparts are fused into a single operational unit that exhibits amazing synergy exceeding by far the efforts of a single officer. A strong bond of love, honor and loyalty combined with extensive training gives these units a significant advantage on patrol and in emergency situations.
An example of local K-9 officers is Robert Davila who has been a member of the Fremont Police force for his entire 29-year career in law enforcement. His current partner and constant companion is “Officer” Tuffy, a five year-old German shepherd who has been with the Fremont Police Department and Officer Davila for the past three years. Both will retire – and remain together – at the end of this year. Davila has worked in SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), field training, sexual assault, narcotics, fraud and as a detective during his career but says the most rewarding position has been time spent with Tuffy. Born and trained in the Czech Republic, Tuffy is highly skilled in search situations – for people and narcotics – and can work as an adjunct to the SWAT unit. He even wears his own badge!
The team of Davila and Tuffy exercise and train every night sharpening their skills to follow orders and protocol regardless of distractions, tracking, narcotics and coordination with other K-9 units. Tuffy has a different collar for each duty and similar to his human counterpart, at times wears a bulletproof vest for protection.
Davila loves this assignment and his attachment for Tuffy truly shows. Other K-9 units exhibit similar affection and respect for each partner and serve as willing public relations ambassadors to the community. As an example of the warm relationship between the public and these units, K-9 Officer Dennis Baca and his companion, “Harkos” recently received a check from fundraising efforts of the California School for the Blind to purchase an armored vest for Harkos. Although the fundraising goal was $600, the school raised $1,149 for the K-9 unit.
Davila says he and Tuffy will soon retire together and Tuffy will remain his dog. Davila says he could not ask for a better way to leave the force.
Hobbs K-9 Unit Outfitted with Protective Vests
The bark certainly matches the bite for a five-year-old Belgian Malinois named Bach assigned to the K-9 unit at the Hobbs Police Department.
“Their life is on the line just like ours is.” Officer Stanley Jordan, who handles Bach said they’re grateful for large donation that provided protective vests for all three canine officers in the department, “We’re very appreciative.”
The dogs are considered a tool for the department but handlers like Officer Jordan do get attached.
“That’s your partner and yeah you don’t want to see anything happen to your partner, but our outlook is I would rather see my dog in a dangerous situation rather than put a fellow officer in a dangerous situation when we don’t have to,” he said.
It’s not clear if Bach likes his new vest, but he is a little safer because of it.
“I am sure they don’t like it, because it’s hot.” Officer Stanley says the dogs know what kind of action is required of them by the equipment used.
The dogs can pinpoint even the slightest amount of drugs. During a police simulation, Bach alerts Officer Jordan to 28 grams of marijuana inside a police van.
“He works. He really works hard, because that’s what he is trained to do.” Officer Jordan said all the commands are in Dutch.
The reward for all his hard work is a red ball and a little play time. Bach is a bit of a work-a-holic. He’s even found drugs off duty at an area park.
Quattro the police dog retires after 8 years
WEST COVINA – The Police Department will soon lose one its most valued officers: Quattro, an 11-year-old Dutch shepherd.
After eight years with the department, Quattro – the longest serving police dog in West Covina’s history – is retiring on July 17.
“It’s very emotional,” said Officer Pete Gallardo, Quattro’s partner. “He’s been my partner for four years. I spend more time with him than with anyone else I know.”
Pooches Quattro, Rocco, and Rambo make up the department’s K-9 Unit, which was founded in 1981.
Quattro is the unit’s longest-serving dog. Rambo has served for four years, and Rocco has been on the force for one.
Quattro is the most experienced of the bunch, having participated
in 500 searches and about 75 arrests. But the canine is starting to show his age.Gallardo said that a doctor recently found cancerous cells in Quattro’s bladder.
The pooch has also lost some of his steam in the past year.
“A lot of the reason why he is retiring is he is getting older, and he doesn’t have the stamina he used to,” Gallardo said.
Instead of bringing in another pooch to make the three-dog unit complete, budget restraints are forcing the department to make do with just two canines.
West Covina Cpl. Brad Smith, who trains the canines in the unit, said the cost of another dog and training is $13,500. That doesn’t include the cost of paying and training officers.
While he understands the city’s budget restraints, he is disappointed to see they will be one dog short in the unit.
“The officers themselves are losing out on a very good officer-safety tool,” Smith said.
At least Quattro has retirement plans of an officer’s dreams, Smith said.
“Pete (Gallardo) will buy Quattro from the city for $1, assume all liability, and Quattro will live the rest of his days playing golf and lying by the pool,” Smith said.
Mansfield K-9 officer, partner win award
City police officer Steve Hornback calls working with a dog the best job a cop can have.
“You always have backup,” he said.
Hornback and his K-9 partner, Astor, have been busy during their year and a half together. Astor has sniffed out more than 17 pounds of marijuana and been a part of more than 100 arrests.
The duo won three awards at a recent U.S. Police K-9 Association competition in Marion. Astor finished fourth out of 34 dogs in apprehension and bite work, and seventh in drug sniffing.
The 3-year-old German shepherd was born in Slovakia and trained in Germany. He goes home with Hornback at the end of each shift.
“If you’re not working, he’s just a regular dog. He’s a fantastic dog at home; he fits in real well,” Hornback said. “The second I put this uniform on, you can see a light go on in his eyes, and he’s all business.”
Astor is trained in detecting six types of narcotics, tracking, article search and apprehension. Sgt. Ken Coontz, who supervises the department’s K-9 unit, can appreciate Hornback and Astor — Coontz had a K-9 partner for three years.
“Officer Hornback and Astor are a credit to the Mansfield Police Department and certainly the community,” he said. “They put in a lot of extra hours in training.”
In part because of the economy, the department has only one K-9 unit. Coontz would like to see that number climb to three.
Hornback estimated they trained for 40 hours to get ready for the recent competition. They work from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. to be able to cover second and third shifts. He said only two suspects have tried to flee from his German shepherd.
“They see the dog and they know it’s not worth trying,” he said. “You can’t outrun a dog, especially this one.”
Rookie RI Cops Jump in Water And Rescue Man
Way to go, Officers Moody & Lavallee!!!
———–
The Providence Journal Bob Thayer
Newport police officers Scott Moody, left, and Joseph Lavallee, who rescued a South Carolina man Friday after his boat capsized off Brenton Reef, joined the Police Department just over two years ago. Both are Newport natives who know the island’s waters well.
The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer
NEWPORT –– Two men clung to the hull of a capsized boat, struggling in the rough water about 150 yards off Brenton Reef Friday morning.
As the 5-foot waves crashed against the boat and high winds shoved it toward the rocks, one of the men, age 35, took a chance.
He started swimming toward shore in the cold, churning water. His friend, 67, tried to follow.
Neither was wearing a life jacket.
As the younger man reached land, he pointed back to his friend, who was flailing, and screamed at the police officers and firefighters on shore: He needs help!
The rocks kept the Coast Guard boat from getting close enough to save the man. The Newport fire boat, carrying rescuers, was on the other side of the reef. Firefighters on shore were getting into their wetsuits and grabbing their rescue gear.
But the two rookie police officers on shore dropped their belts and their bulletproof vests –– and started swimming.
Those who know Brenton Reef know that it’s treacherous, especially in stormy weather, Newport Fire Capt. James McIntosh said later, and those who aren’t familiar with it can get caught in its rocky passages.
“That area’s pretty dramatic,” he said.
At around 7:30 a.m., when other fishermen were heading out, someone on shore spotted the capsized 20-foot center-console Grady-White and called for help.
The call brought the Coast Guard and firefighters, all with training and equipment for water rescue.
It also brought Officers Scott Moody, 30, and Joseph Lavallee, 26, both natives of Newport, who know the waters around the island. They both joined the Police Department a little over two years ago, but they hadn’t performed a water rescue since their days together in the police academy.
They saw the man go under the waves once. And again. And then he stopped moving.
“It was at the point where he was going to give up,” Moody said.
They walked over the slippery rocks and ventured into the chest- and head-high ocean waters, pushing against the waves and keeping the drowning man in sight.
“It looked like the guy didn’t have much time,” Lavallee said.
The water was about 60 degrees, but the officers said they didn’t notice the cold as they swam.
“It was a nice awakening to the morning,” Moody said.
The man’s head was still above water, but he couldn’t move when they reached him. The officers got on either side of him, hauled under his arms and started bringing him back. They tried to help him walk when they got closer to shore, but he told them he couldn’t stand.
“He’d been treading water for 35, 40 minutes,” Moody said. The officers carried him the rest of the way to the firefighters on the shore.
The man they rescued, 67-year-old William Murdock, of North Charleston, S.C., was treated by the firefighters for hypothermia and admitted to Newport Hospital. His friend, Jason Catlender, 35, of Scituate, Mass., was treated at the emergency room and released.
Murdock’s boat, which had smashed against the rocks all morning, was brought to shore.
Trooper of the Year does ‘the right thing’
Trooper Carey Hixson likes to keep it simple.
“This job’s not that difficult,” he said. “It’s just about being out there, doing the right thing and trying to help folks out.”
Some days the right thing’s as simple as a traffic stop. Other days, it’s racing 90 mph after a convicted felon wanted in a string of armed robberies.
Hixson’s work to catch that suspect last April and his help with an FBI counterterrorism investigation recently earned him recognition as the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s 2008 Trooper of the Year for the Knoxville district, which consists of 11 area counties.
He and others chosen from districts around the state “represent the outstanding achievements of the Tennessee Highway Patrol,” Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell said. “Often, the public does not see the good work done by this fine organization.”
Hixson, 35, spends most of his workday patrolling Interstate 75 through Loudon County. He grew up one county over in Rockwood, where his father served as a city police officer and where his aunt, Teresa Brown, works as a trooper.
He joined the THP in 2001 after working nearly four years as a guard at the Brushy Mountain prison.
“I liked sirens and blue lights, so I guess this was just in my blood,” Hixson said.
He’d pulled over off U.S. Highway 321 to make a phone call that day in April when a white Mitsubishi Eclipse roared by. Authorities said the driver, 31-year-old Joseph Duggan, had just robbed four convenience stores in Knox and Roane counties in a 12-hour span.
“I’d heard the description on the radio,” Hixson said. “When he drove by, he looked right at me.”
Hixson and fellow trooper Brent Cagle chased Duggan north on I-75 for about a mile until Duggan pulled over, then changed his mind and sped away. The chase stretched out about another mile, topped speeds of 90 mph and ended on Campbell Station Road after Duggan’s car blew a tire and Hixson used his cruiser to bump the car off the road. Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Duggan there.
“We were flying down the road after him,” Hixson said. “He had to be stopped. The whole time I was praying, ‘Please don’t let me hit an innocent person.’ The adrenaline’s fired up and going in a chase like that, but it’s not fun.”
A month later, Hixson stopped a driver from Washington on the interstate and wrote out a ticket on a registration violation.
“He kept saying he had diplomatic immunity,” Hixson said. “I told him that didn’t apply to traffic tickets.”
The man turned out to be a foreign official. FBI agents told Hixson that the man was under surveillance and forbidden to travel outside the D.C. area. His trip remains under investigation as part of a counterterrorism case, officials said.
That brief traffic stop earned Hixson a commendation and personal thank-you from FBI Director Robert Mueller – even though the trooper’s still not sure exactly what he helped with.
“I’m very appreciative, but there’s a lot of people out here doing good things,” Hixson said. “You just have to remember who you are and what you do.”
Chasing bad guys, serving public like Dad
Growing up the sons of a Miami police officer in the 1970s made for an exciting childhood for Kenny, 39, and Richard Dobson Jr., 41.
Their father, Lt. Richard Dobson Sr., brought his sidekick home every night, the amazing Rocky, a German shepherd who played hide and seek with the boys and saved his teeth for the bad guys. The violence of Miami’s streets — punctuated in the 1980 Liberty City riots — if stressful for Richard Sr., offered thrilling tales for the boys.
“We couldn’t wait to hear his stories when he got off from work, what he did that night,” said Richard Jr.
Occasionally, they saw it first hand, pulling up on car accidents, stopping petty crimes in progress and generally helping those in need. Richard Sr. has a knack for being where he’s needed.
There was the time Richard Sr. and a 15-year-old Kenny spotted a tire thief, and father and son split up to give chase.
“I’m running between houses chasing the guy, don’t know what I’m going to do when I catch him,” Kenny recalled. “And I hear this little car screaming and sliding around corners and it’s (Richard Sr.) in the passenger’s seat. He’s got a lady, who he confiscated her car. She’s driving.”
As they grew older, both sons embraced their father’s love for helping people: Richard Jr., first in his 22-year Navy career and now as a newly minted corrections officer at the downtown jail. Kenny as a firefighter, and now the chief of the Fort Myers Fire Department
Richard Sr., at 60, is still collaring the bad guys, now for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Lehigh Acres.
If his sons’ childhood excitement has worn off, or at least matured into caution — Richard Sr. says he’s relieved that neither works road patrol as he does — it has been replaced by something more basic.
“To me, it’s working with people — inmates, other officers, the public,” said Richard Jr. “It’s just working with other people that I like.”
His brother, bound more to his desk than a fire truck these days, finds a similar energy in outreach, speaking to children at schools or detention centers.
“I actually don’t miss the tactical and operational aspects of the job,” he said of his position. “I miss the contact with the people.”
It’s called public service, a simple ideal passed on from one generation to the next.
“I think all of us feel the same way,” said Richard Sr. “Now, whether they picked it up from me or we picked it up together through living together, I don’t know. But I think it’s something we all feel.”
All in the family
It took a couple of decades, but 22-year-old Robbie Lewis finally grew into his father’s boots.
When Robbie was just a small boy, his father, Bob Lewis, used to come home from work as a Collier County sheriff’s deputy, change out of his uniform, and take off his boots.
“I would go and put his big boots on. I was just a little guy,” Robbie Lewis said. “I remember from that moment on I always wanted to put on the full suit.”
Robbie Lewis finally joined his father at the Collier Sheriff’s Office right after he finished high school about four years ago. He now works in the agency’s traffic unit.
Bob Lewis, 52, a commander in charge of the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Group, wasn’t surprised at his son’s career choice.
“I knew at the time if he wanted to do that, I’d be supportive of him, and if he wanted to be a doctor, I’d support him in that also,” Bob Lewis said. “If work is a passion, it’s not really work.”
There are at least 10 fathers at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office whose son or daughter works with the agency, officials said. Robbie Lewis said he sees his dad quite often at work, and occasionally gets to grab lunch with him.
“I still live at home, so I see him all the time there,” Robbie Lewis said of his dad. “I see him at work. I can’t get away from the guy.”
One year after Robbie joined the force, Kristin Lewis, Bob’s daughter and Robbie’s sister, graduated from high school and was hired as a 911 dispatcher. However, her career with the Sheriff’s Office was never so certain.
Kristin, who turned 21 on Saturday, said she considered a career as a veterinarian, but nixed that idea because she didn’t enjoy biology class. Never a fan of school, Kristin wanted to do something after high school besides college.
Her dad suggested dispatch.
“She’s found her niche there,” Bob Lewis said. “She’s very good at what she does. I’ve had a lot of compliments as to her abilities there.”
Kristin Lewis said she enjoys her job because every day is something different. And sometimes its fun to dispatch her father and brother.
“I get to tell them what to do for a change,” Kristin Lewis said. “It’s nice.”
And if three Lewises aren’t enough, Bob’s wife, Andrea Lewis – Robbie’s and Kristin’s stepmom – works as a supervisor in the Sheriff’s Office’s central records division.
“It’s the whole Lewis clan, I guess you could say,” Kristin Lewis said.
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