Tech upgrades to boost sheriff’s deputies’ safety
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies charged with the safety of thousands of county residents will soon get a dose of safety themselves.
A $1 million overhaul of department squad cars, spread over the past four years, will upgrade the modems in squad cars countywide.
Once installed, dispatchers will be able to track the department’s more than 850 squad cars — and no longer have to rely on deputies to say where they are as they patrol.
The long-discussed upgrade could be a life-saving move, deputies say, allowing backup units to more easily reach colleagues in danger.
The GPS-like tracking system is one in a line of technology upgrades the sheriff’s department has launched.
Project leaders say the changes will not only protect design safety, but also improve department efficiency.
The second major upgrade under way, a project that is related to the system upgrade, will do away with thousands of paper reports.
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Support for the canines
A Valparaiso animal hospital is stepping up to raise money for the Valparaiso Police Department’s K-9 Unit.
Vale Park Animal Hospital has been holding $5 canine nail trims on alternate Saturdays since July as a lead-up to Sunday’s fundraiser, the Canine Cop Crusade. The nail trims raised more than $1,000, veterinarian Randi Olson said.
She got the idea for the nail trims from clinic staff members who have been involved in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and decided to do the same for the K-9 Unit. The clinic provides services to the dogs in the unit free of charge.
The open house includes a dunk tank for the clinic’s veterinarians, a silent auction, and a look behind the scenes at the animal hospital.
Olson hopes the animal hospital’s efforts raise $6,151. The amount, she said, was inspired by the pet store Pet Supplies Plus, which donates food for the dogs and had a fundraiser for them that generated more than $6,000.
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Police dogs are sought-after commodity
By the time Brock the police dog finishes his training Friday at Castle K9, he will be able to find a lost child, sniff out explosives, grab and hold a criminal by the arm and politely visit a classroom of students.
Just like their human counterparts, police dogs have become multitaskers. And it seems more police departments want them, even as grants to buy and train the dogs are drying up.
When Aftermath, Inc., a national company that specializes in cleanups of crime scenes and accidents, offered a police dog drawing last year, it got 2,200 applications, and it’s expecting five times that many for the next drawing.
Lower Allen Townshipwas the winner of Aftermath’s prize, getting $8,000 toward the dog, which, when added to the $4,000 already raised, comes close to the $16,000 the department needs to train the dog and its handler.
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Wauconda police dog lauded for winning ‘Canine Olympics’
It’s said that every dog has his day, but how many get two days?
Maxx, a German shepherd in the Wauconda K-9 unit and his handler Sgt. John Combs were recognized during Tuesday’s Wauconda village board meeting for winning the Canine Olympics in August. They finished first in individual and team contests.
It marked the second time the duo has won the olympics – the first was in 2008.
The Canine Olympics include events meant to test the handler and the dog working together in all areas of police work. Some events are physically challenging while others, such as a 10-element hidden evidence event, are mentally strenuous.
“Everything we do on the job is tested,” Combs said.
That includes shooting, driving and obedience. Combs said there may not be any way to prepare for the events aside from job training and experience.
“It’s physically demanding for the officer as well as the canine,” he said
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Chattanooga Cadets learn ropes
New Chattanooga police cadets got a toothy welcome to the department Wednesday during the second week of their academy training.
Cadets, wearing a protective “bite suit,” took turns screaming, running, then being tackled and bitten by police dogs.
The trainees spent a day “building confidence” at the Ooltewah High School ROTC course, performing physical training drills, running the obstacle course and training with K-9 officers.
“This is to get them confidence in themselves and their class,” said Lt. Stan Allen, training director.
This is the first Chattanooga police academy in two years. The police department has about 420 officers, or 65 officers short of what officials say they need. In addition, more than 40 officers are eligible to retire at any time, Chief Bobby Dodd said.
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Hollywood pros hope to set series in Modesto
We’ve heard it and read it ad nauseam:
Modesto is one of the nation’s armpits. Forbes Magazine says so periodically in its least-desirable cities listings. Men’s Health once ranked the valley as one of the best places to be obese, out of shape and have a heart attack.
We’re the meth capital of the world, and have led the nation in auto thefts.
So when a Hollywood TV producer approached the Modesto police and other city officials about doing a program that would show the department and the city in a positive light and improve its image, it wasn’t exactly the world’s toughest sell — as in, “how soon can you start filming?”
Award-winning film editor Michael Glickman and business partner Chris Flores have spent the past several weeks in Modesto shooting footage for a “sizzle.” That’s the TV industry’s term for the clip they’ll shop to the networks in hopes of getting the OK for a pilot that could turn into a series. In 2008, Glickman received an American Cinematic Editors “Eddie” award for his work on “Cops,” the Fox reality show he spent 15 years editing and producing.
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Cop dog buries badge
Tyler Graf / The South County Spotlight RETIRED PUP – St. Helens Police Officer Jon Eggers and his former partner on the K-9 unit, Bosco, have created a close bond during their seven years together. Now retired, Bosco has become the family pet for the Eggers family.
In clichéd cop movie parlance, Bosco, the 10-year-old beloved police dog, is simply getting too old for this stuff. After seven years of literally sniffing out bad guys as the canine half of St. Helens’ K-9 unit, Bosco officially retired last week.
During his tenure, Bosco helped bring more than 90 criminals to justice, all while keeping his partner in law enforcement, Officer Jon Eggers, safe. In doing so, the two partners formed a lasting bond.
The bond is based on trust, on loyalty and above all, Eggers says, on a near-telepathic connection to each other.
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Former beat cop Anthony Mango inspires kid from Bronx housing project to join NYPD decades later
A former beat cop crossed paths with dozens of kids while on patrol at a Bronx housing project in the late 1970s.
At 73, Anthony Mango barely remembers their faces – let alone their names. But he made such an impression on one 10-year-old that the boy grew up and followed his footsteps right into the NYPD.
Kevin Taylor, now a lieutenant, has finally been reunited with Mango 26 years after they first slapped high-fives at the St. Mary’s Park Houses.
“I wanted to tell him ‘thank you,’” the teary-eyed Taylor said.
Mango changed assignments while Taylor was still a boy and the two lost touch. The older cop retired in 1987, before Taylor joined the force, so he had trouble finding him. That changed once the Bronx kid became a cop.
“I thought now that I am in the Police Department, I can find him,” said Taylor, recalling his thoughts when he joined the force 14 years ago.
Taylor, who is black, was raised by a single mom and had few positive male role models as a scrawny kid. Now he’s a hulking 200-pound man reduced to tears when he thinks about the encouraging words that helped him stay out of trouble.
The Manhattan lieutenant remembers Mango, one of the few white faces he saw at the public housing project, walking him across the street to the store. And he remembered the beat cop telling him to stay away from the bad kids.
“In life, color of the skin doesn’t matter,” Mango used to tell Taylor. “It’s what’s inside that counts.”
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/19/2010-09-19_lt_thanks_cop_who_was_finest_example.html#ixzz10E3ZInHa
Police dog’s work evolves into multifaceted role
It’s been an eventful nine years in the life of Kregin as a member of the Elgin Police Department’s K-9 unit.
In that time, the 11-year-old German shepherd has seen his fair share of action, developing a resumé that would read like one belonging to any elite police officer.
As one of three dogs that serves the department, some of the duties he’s been called on to do included tracking down and apprehending suspects, searching for narcotics, protecting officers from harm and even finding a missing child.
These days, life has gotten a bit slower for Kregin. He retired from active duty in April, and he’s enjoying civilian life in his new role as a cherished pet to the family of the officer who worked as his handler throughout his time with the EPD.
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New Baltimore Police Department Needs Help Naming New K-9
The New Baltimore Police Department has a new member on its force and it needs help giving the new K-9 officer a name.
A 1 1/2-year-old yellow lab was purchased by the New Baltimore Police Officers Association from Paw With A Cause. Now he will have a new mission, helping out in the war on drugs.
The department’s first drug dog, Cubby, died of cancer in October 2003.Applications are due at the New Baltimore Police Department by noon Oct. 13.
The winning name will be announced at a spaghetti dinner on Oct. 27.
The winner of the naming contest will be photographed with the dog, receive at $100 U.S. savings bond and have a plague with their name displayed in the lobby of the police department.
To submit an entry, visit www.newbaltimorepolice.org and click on the NBPOA tab.
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