From routine patrols to explosives detection, K-9 unit helps keep BART riders safe

Tim seemed to be getting a little restless. He paced a bit on the platform, unfazed by the trains screeching through Lake Merritt Station and the cameras filming the scene.

“He wants to work,” explained  Officer Mike Zendejas of his partner, a 95-pound German shepherd with big paws, alert eyes and lots of energy.  Zendejas and Tim are one of eight handler/dog teams in the BART Police K-9 unit.

BART, like many large public transportation systems, has used patrol dogs for years as a visible deterrent to crime and to assist officers responding to reports of crimes. ”The presence of a dog is usually enough,” said Sgt. Jason Ledford, supervisor of BART’s K-9 unit and a former handler himself. “Most people don’t want to challenge the dog. Ultimately, it keeps the person that we’re dealing with safer and it keeps the handler safer, because we’re not involved in having to physically apprehend someone.”

BART began using canines for police work in the early 1970s, and the unit took on different forms over the years.  But since the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, 2001, and subsequent bombings in subway systems from Madrid to Moscow, the dogs’ role has expanded to another important area – explosives detection. Half the dogs in BART’s unit serve as general patrol dogs and are cross-trained in explosives detection; the other half work full-time on explosives detection, through a program funded by the Transportation Security Administration.

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