Sheriff’s painting selected for prison rodeo poster
“A Bull Named Justice” is making a name in art for Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator.
Angola Warden Burl Cain selected the primitive painting for the 2012 Angola Prison Rodeo poster. And, even though Prator has never been to the Angola rodeo, the work does give a sense of it.
Not bad for someone who started painting on the spur of the moment 18 months ago for stress relief.
“I was always told I was not artistic, but I decided to have fun and do something relaxing,” remembered Prator.
Urbandale K-9 Is Both Pet and Partner to Officer
Urbandale Police Officer Shane Taylor and his partner were called to a breakin at a West Des Moines house last year. It was a dicey situation: the suspects were still in the house and were believed to be armed.
The decision was made to send in Taylor’s partner, Sabre.
“It was a lot safer sending the dog in,” said Taylor, who nevertheless felt nervous. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, but the German shepherd had no such protection.
“We knew there were people in the house and there were firearms, so the Kevlar would have been good,” said Taylor.
Muskegon County’s new K-9 deputy, Rex, and handler in training
A 13-month-old German Shepherd, hand picked from the Netherlands, will be the next Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office K-9 deputy.
Rex will be on the job sometime in June, partnering with the new K-9 handler, Deputy Jamie Ottinger, 37, who has been with the department since 2001.
New Four-Legged Police Officers Meet the Public
The Anchorage Police Department has a few new officers on the street, but they’re not the human kind: After graduating from the 
academy last year, the newest members of the department’s K-9 Unit were introduced to the public Saturday during the annual “Dollars for Dogs” meet-and-greet.
While you might not see APD’s canine unit out and about very much, it’s a major part of the department.
SWAT Trains For Any Situation
Dodge SWAT Team members have to be ready for any situation at any time.
To that end, they train with various scenarios and locations, including county buildings and schools, working to ensure that if something were to happen, they would be ready.
“Our goal is to protect life and property of the citizens of Dodge County and to conduct tactical operations in the safest manner possible,” said SWAT Team leader Dean Hopp. “My personal goal is to bring each and every member of my team home safely from any assignment or call that we encounter.”
Sheriff’s deputy pulled from cruiser moments before it explodes – after he was hit by ‘wrong-way drunk driver’
A Florida sheriff’s deputy cheated death after he was struck by an alleged drunk driver who plowed into his cruiser while driving on the wrong side of the road.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Juan Lazu was on patrol in Tampa early Sunday when a large SUV crossed the median and continued in the wrong direction.
Fox 13 reported that Lazu did not see the vehicle, which had its headlights turned off, and it struck the cruiser head-on.
BOOM! Eau Claire County SWAT team practices explosives training
-If you happened to drive by the old Country Hearth Inn and Suites in Eau Claire Monday afternoon you may have heard a lot of explosions going off.
The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team practiced explosives training in the shut down hotel.
When the SWAT team is called to an emergency they bring an arsenal of tools with them, and one of the most effective is explosives to breach, or help open doors quickly.
“When we are required to be in there, we are required to be in there, it’s that simple. So we don’t have time to mess around with trying to open a door in a very slow method, so we have to do it fast,” Lt. Rod Stearns from the sheriff’s department explains.
UPDATE: Wounded Officers Upgraded to Good Condition
The two officers who remain hospitalized after last week’s Greenland shooting were upgraded to good condition Tuesday, according to WMUR.
The television station said Newmarket Police Detective Scott Kukesh and Rochester Police Detective Jeremiah Murphy are also no longer in the intensive care unit at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
An earlier story follows:
Two of the four police officers who were wounded in the April 12 armed standoff in Greenland remain in stable condition at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
McLean Police Officer Honored for Outstanding Service
McLean District Master Police Officer John Alford came across a pile of branches and leaves blocking a blind curve on Wolftrap Road after a heavy storm last August.
He got of his car, chainsaw in hand, and started clearing the road. Drivers making the curve would not have seen the branches until it was too late to stop.
Alford wanted to prevent an accident – even if that meant risking his life.
Looking for a new career? The Washington State Patrol is hiring
Need a job? The State Patrol is hiring, and it needs 60 cadets pronto.
But the agency isn’t taking just anybody.
“We need 60 people who want to be part of a tradition that is bigger than any of us.”said Capt. Jeff DeVere, the Human Resources Division commander, in a news release.
“We need the right 60 people.”
