15 new Portland police officers sworn in; for many, it’s a family affair

Friends, family and fellow officers packed City Council chambers this morning to watch 15 recruits sworn in as Portland police officers.

Five of the new officers are related to current or retired Portland police. Another has been working as a background investigator for the Portland Police Bureau, and several were cadets for Portland police, or served as volunteer reserve officers for other area agencies before joining Portland’s force.

Retired Lt. Harry Jackson presented a badge to his son, Jakhary James Jackson, 27, as the new officer’s kindergarten and fourth-grade teachers looked on with family and friends.

“It is a dream come true for me to become part of this family, a family that my dad loved throughout his entire career and still loves to this day,” Jakhary Jackson said.

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Two new K-9 officers start in Mishawaka

Two new K-9 officers started working the streets last week.

German Shepherd’s Max and Rex completed a training course with their handlers during the fall in order to start work this year.

Max and his partner Cpl. Anthony Stachowiak fill the positions held by Ricky and Cpl. Jim Szuba, who were killed last year in a car crash.

“You never replace a person or even a K-9 officer. We just look at it more as we have an opening so we’re going to move forward with that. There’s no replacing what we had before,” said Chief Ken Witkowski.

Stachowiak and Max were paired in August after many community fundraisers. The two then began an intensive 13-week training program with the South Bend Police Department.

“They did an excellent job with us, being very patient with us also because we had a lot to learn and I feel much more prepared than I did then,” said Stachowiak, who has never had a K-9 partner before.

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Wounded dog back on patrol with cop who saved him

Nearly three months after San Diego police officer Christopher Wilson died in a shootout, the police dog wounded in the gun battle and his handler have returned to duty as a team.

Officer Mike McLeod recounted that harrowing night in an interview Wednesday, his first since he and his dog, Monty, became trapped in the bedroom of a Skyline apartment where an armed fugitive and his girlfriend were barricaded.

That night is hard to get out of his mind, said McLeod, a 24-year police veteran and a K9 officer since 1991.

“The sounds, the sense of being trapped, my dog bleeding. … I was trying to think: How am I going to get out of here?”

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Sebring police’s K9 team passes drug certification

Illegal drug peddlers and drug users beware: the city of Sebring Police Department now has a K9 team narcotics certified by the North American Police Work Dog Association, which reportedly is the most difficult certification to get.

Sebring Police K9 Patrol Officer John Garrison and K9 partner J.R., a black German shepherd dog imported from Germany, recently received certification and training to alert to methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and crack and powder cocaine.

J.R. received his official name in honor of Sebring Police Sgt. Jimmie R. Moore, who died in the line of duty in 1976 when his car tire blew out at or near the intersection of U.S. 27 and Howey Road, now known as Flare Road.

“We just got our narcotics certificate in the mail today,” he said Monday. “We’re definitely proud of it.”

He may even alert to some newer drugs like Ecstasy.

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Bossier City welcomes new police officers, SWAT paramedics

Bossier City welcomed four new police officers and three new SWAT team paramedics Tuesday.

Three of the new officers — George Fanning, Charles Spraggins Jr. and Michael Martinez — were among the five police recruits affected by the work force reduction last year mandated by budget cuts.

The fourth new officer, Christopher Isom, was waiting in the wings to be hired when the hiring freeze began, according to Bossier City spokesman Mark Natale.

Six people were laid off and more than two dozen positions were eliminated as a result of the 2010 cuts. The Bossier City Council approved the hirings in the fall and the new officers were hired Jan. 1, Natale said.

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