Taking a sniff out of crime

Whether he is sniffing for drugs, searching the woods for a lost child or making public appearances, 4-year-old Falco, the city’s police dog, has earned his keep in the department as a four-legged community goodwill ambassador.

Falco, a Belgian Malinois, came to Westfield from Europe four years ago ready to take his place in the community and the home of his handler, K-9 Officer Christopher M. Coach.

With a total startup cost of about $12,000, which included the dog, shipping from Belgium and three months of intensive training for both Falco and Coach, “Falco is worth his weight in gold,” Coach said.

“His worth is indescribable,” Coach added. “He’s a great community relations tool, and most kids in Westfield know and love Falco.”

Westfield Police Capt. Michael A. McCabe said the annual cost of maintaining the K-9 unit – minimal in comparison to the multitude of benefits it provides the department and community – is about $5,000, an amount that covers expenses such as dog food, regular veterinarian visits and a full-time cruiser dedicated to the unit.

“In the grand scheme of things, considering that he’s part of our day-to-day operations, the unit is negligible to run,” he said.

The department budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 is $6.3 million.

Falco’s keen sense of smell, Coach and McCabe said, is utilized frequently in narcotics searches and several times per year in the search of missing children and adults, as well as used to track suspects fleeing from the scene of a crime.

“The list of the benefits of having Falco is pretty much endless,” McCabe said. “You just can’t put a price tag on it.”

While the dog’s public appearances at city schools and youth organizations such as the Westfield Boys and Girls Club have made Falco an important goodwill ambassador in the community, it is his ability to assist in police investigations and searches that have made him an invaluable member of Westfield’s public safety team, Coach said.

For example, last summer during a suffocating heat wave, Falco, Southwick’s Belgian Malinois Jax and his handler Officer Thomas Krutka and the Granby K-9 unit were called in to assist Agawam police in the search of a suicidal teen male hiding in a thickly settled forested area off Main Street.

“It was two hours before we found him,” Coach said. “It was a real large, heavily wooded area with streams, and it was hot.”

Falco is also regularly called upon to keep public schools in Westfield and communities across Western Massachusetts such as Agawam, West Springfield, Ware and Ludlow drug-free, Coach said.

“We assist numerous local schools with locker searches for narcotics,” he said.

BY MANON L. MIRABELLI

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Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department use books to comfort children

Instead of trying to reach out to children involved in traumatic incidents with a stuffed animal, Sheriff’s deputies will reach out with a book.

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department’s 23 marked patrol squads will now be equipped with lime green backpacks filled with children’s books.

Deputies who respond to an incident involving children can now provide the youngsters with a children’s book.

In the past deputies provided children with a stuffed animal, but recently Congress passed legislation that put regulations on lead and chemical compounds that could make distributing the animals illegal and possibly harmful, said Winnebago County sheriff’s Capt. Todd Christopherson.

The backpacks, which are provided by Waunakee-based REACH a Child, are a good alternative to stuffed animals.

“We’re still able to give some type of item to a child who has experienced something traumatic,” Christopherson said. “It bridges that gap of where they may see an officer as an authority figure and builds a personal relationship with a child.”

Developed by children’s author Paul Gilbertson and his wife, Chris, the backpacks have eight to 10 children’s books geared for toddlers through 12-year-olds.

The backpacks, sponsored by the J. J. Keller Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region, are kept in squad cars for officers to give to children they meet in a crisis or a stressful situation and help children to momentarily forget about the situation they are in.

It’s a program that has proved to be successful at other law enforcement agencies.

The Oshkosh Police Department started using the backpacks in May 2008 and thinks it is helpful when dealing with children who have experienced a traumatic event, said Officer Joe Nichols, spokesman for the department.

Christopherson said all of the stuffed animals have been removed from squad cars and replaced with the backpacks.

By Jennifer K. Woldt

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Pocono Mountain Regional Police swear in five new police officers

Pocono Mountain Regional Police had five new police officers sworn into duty during the November Police Commission meeting.

Pocono Mountain Regional Police swore five new police officers into duty during the November Police Commission meeting.

In addition to the new hires, two officers were recently honored for their work in the department, according to Chief Harry Lewis. Lt. William Laverty and Officer Gary Gaus of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department were presented with an Act of Valor Award last month during a Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner held at The Chateau Resort and Conference Center, presented by Tri-State Troopers Fund Inc., Monroe County Crime Stoppers Association and the Greater Pocono Chamber of Commerce.

The act honored was for handling of an armed standoff that occurred in Tobyhanna Township with Michael Schaffer.

PMRPD officers were initially dispatched for a mental health commitment at the residence. When officers arrived, Schaffer began shooting at officers.

Gaus and Laverty, veteran SWAT officers, were able to help maintain a perimeter. They were just 15 feet from Schaffer when he began firing at them. Officers returned fire and hit Schaffer, who later died at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Laverty’s and Gaus’ acts helped to resolve the situation with minimal loss of life and no injuries to any of the police officers.

On Nov. 10, Angella M. Tullo, Treasurer of the Tri-State Troopers Fund Inc., presented Gaus with a plaque for an Act of Valor Award for the same incident at the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Commission meeting as he was unable to attend the Tri-State Troopers Fund Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner where Laverty received his award.

By Beth Brelje

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Liquor store owners pitch in to keep Cops in Shops

Facing the possibility cuts in state aid, area liquor store owners have raised $10,000 to fund a program designed to help combat underaged drinking by placing undercover cops inside and outside liquor stores in a joint effort.

Police from Attleboro, North Attleboro, Norton and Mansfield and liquor store owners Chris Gasbarro and David Cummings announced the program called “Cops in Shops” Friday at the North Attleboro police station.

“People aren’t going to know when or where or in what liquor establishment we will be in,” Attleboro Police Chief Richard Pierce Sr. said at a news conference.

There are 40 to 50 liquor stores in the four communities, and all have indicated a willingness to take part in the program, Pierce said.

Undercover police will either pose as customers or employees to nab underage youths attempting to buy booze or adults willing to buy for them. Undercover officers will also be working surveillance outside stores. “We’re all aware of the recent tragedies that have occurred in our area,” Pierce said, adding that police are preparing to combat underage drinking parties by college students returning home for the holidays to prevent more tragedies.

With undercover police inside or outside the stores, violators will be able to apprehended at the scene, said Gasbarro, owner of Fine Wine and Spirits in Seekonk and Capadanos in North Attleboro.

“This prevents what we call store hopping,” Gasbarro added, saying it was common for underage people to go from store to store when they are turned away or can’t get an adult to buy booze for them.

“Nobody wants to serve to a minor,” said Cummings of Yankee Spirits in Attleboro.

Pierce said the program is not new and has been effective in the past with state aid. But because continued state funding for the program and other liquor enforcement efforts is uncertain because of the state budget crisis, police and liquor retailers have collaborated to raise funds through donations.

“We’ve decided to think a little outside the box,” Pierce said, praising the efforts of liquor store owners to raise money and join forces with police in fighting underage drinking.

Norton Police Chief Brian Clark said underage drinking is a problem for all communities and one that requires a unified effort because it doesn’t stop at city or town lines.

The operation has the support of the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and The Century Council, a national non-profit organization dedicated to reducing drunken driving and underage drinking problems.

Anyone under 21 who attempts to purchase alcohol faces a maximum $300 fine and the suspension of their driver’s licenses for 180 days. Adults who purchase or furnish booze for underage youths face up to a $2,000 fine, a 1-year jail term or both.

“The message we want to publicize is that we’re not going to tolerate underage drinking,” Pierce said. Last year, police throughout the area stepped up alcohol enforcement after 17-year-old King Phillip High School senior Taylor Meyer of Plainville died after an underage drinking party in woods in Norfolk following a homecoming football game.

By David Linton

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