Police K-9 Magazine

Zach Larsen and K-9 Max of the Clay County (MN) Sheriff’s Office received their second Top Dog award at a K-9 certification course held in mid-May at Camp Ripley, Minnesota. Max also placed first in the Street category. Larsen and Max won the Top Dog title in 2008, as well.

Ken Greenleaf and K-9 Valor were awarded the championship at the Ventura County Police K-9 Trials held in July 2009. The duo has won the competition for four years in a row.

Jim O’Brien and K-9 Blek, Wolfeboro (NH) Police Department, won seven trophies at the U.S. Police Canine Association‘s trials in Falmouth, Maine, in July 2009, including: first place overall in the Novice category and firsts in that category in apprehension, obedience, suspect search, and teamwork. Tom Nichols and K-9 Kaybar, Amesbury (MA) Police Department, took first place overall in the Advanced category and won firsts in agility, suspect search, evidence recovery, criminal apprehension, and obedience.

The Herald (New Britain, CT) reports that K-9 Drak of the Farmington (CT) Police Department led police to $10,000 in loot from a Bristol bank robbery. Drak was on a reverse track from where one of the robbers had been taken into custody when he located a towel hanging on a tree as though it were being used as a marker. Officers subsequently discovered the money buried beneath a fallen oak tree.

The Mid-Hudson News Network (Middletown, NY) reports that K-9 Ike of the Beacon City (NY) Police Department apprehended a burglary suspect after the man violently resisted arrest and pulled out the Taser probes that had been shot into him. After several warning announcements, Ike was deployed. The suspect tried to punch Ike, but the dog held on and the arrest was made.

The Brownsville (TX) Herald reports that a Brownsville teenager was arrested at B&M International Bridge after K-9 Jackhammer of the Border Patrol confirmed the presence of drugs in the dashboard of her car. Twenty packages of CBP with a street value of nearly $1 million were recovered.

In the July/August 2009 issue of Police K-9 Magazine, an article cited the case of State v. Roscoe, 700 P.2d 1312 (Ariz. 1984); appeal after retrial, 910 P.2d 635 (Ariz. 1996). A reader noted that the handler in that case subsequently was discredited in a later court hearing in the Roscoe case. There’s even more to that story. Ex-Pennsylvania State Trooper John Preston worked as a hired expert witness in court and as an FBI canine consultant for many years. Preston was, in fact, discredited in Arizona courts and Florida courts, as well as on national television by Geraldo Rivera, as early as 1984. Yet prosecutors continued to use Preston as an expert witness long after exposure on the Geraldo Rivera show. Most recently, Anderson Cooper reported on Preston’s potential contribution to the wrongful murder conviction of Bill Dillon in Florida. Dillon served 27 years behind bars before being exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence. Preston’s false testimony significantly contributed to Dillon’s conviction. Dozens of cases are currently being examined to determine the depth of damage wrought by this former police dog handler. Preston died in 2008.

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Two K-9s recently were killed while on the job. K-9 Zeus of the New Palz (NY) Police Department was mortally injured when two police cars collided while on the way to investigate a burglar alarm. Zeus was a partner to Officer Robert Knoth, who was injured in the crash along with Officer Joseph Judge, who was in the other car. Both officers had to be extricated from their vehicles using the Jaws of Life; both are recovering.

K-9 Niko of the Lathrop (CA) Police Department was killed by friendly fire during an incident in which a mutiagency task force was serving a warrant. Niko, a 6-year-old Dutch Shepherd, was a 5-year veteran who had apprehended more than 50 suspects and assisted in more than 400 arrests. He was partnered with Officer Judy Lieberman.

K-9 Wicco of the Manchester (NH) Police Department recently sniffed out a jewelry thief hiding in a clothes dryer. Wicco and Handler Chris Goodnow had been called to a residence after a neighbor saw a suspicious person walking to the rear of the home. When police arrived, the woman shut and locked a sliding glass door and disappeared inside the home. Although K-9 Wicco quickly picked up the scent and followed it to the basement, Goodnow could not see the woman. But K-9 Wicco led the officer to the clothes dryer and began to scratch at it. Goodnow opened the door and discovered the female burglar with a backpack full of stolen jewelry. The woman was stuck in the dryer, but was soon pried out and arrested on multiple charges.

Six young dogs that were cloned from a Canadian police K-9 in 2007 have completed their training and are reporting for Customs duty at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea. The young Labrador Retrievers were cloned by the team of scientists at Seoul National University who created the world’s first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy. Only about 30 percent of puppies born naturally to police K-9 mothers make the grade as working dogs, but the scientists believe they can achieve a 90 percent rate with cloned dogs.

The St. Paul Police Canine Unit has won Top Department Team at the United States Police Canine Association’s (USPCA’s) National Field Trials, recently held in Des Moines, Iowa. The 2009 St. Paul team was made up of officers Jon Sherwood and K-9 Benjy, David Pavlak and K-9 Chico, Mike Ernster and K-9 Buzz, Nick Kellum and K-9 Juda, and Rob Vetsch and K-9 Charlie.

Officer Todd Haller and K-9 Diesel placed first in Overall Team and in individual Narcotics Detection at the American Working Dog K-9 Olympics in Peru, Indiana.

Officer George Adams and K-9 Dak of the Atlantic City (NJ) Police Department won Top Dog in the USPCA Region 6 Police Dog 1 Trials, held in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania in September. The team also took first place in Criminal Apprehension, first place in Obedience, and third place in Agility.

In September, Deputy Melanie Russell and K-9 Kahlua of the St. Johns County (FL) Sheriff’s Office received the 2009 Trailing Team of the Year award. Florida Governor Charlie Crist presented the award at the Annual Florida Missing Children’s Day ceremony in Tallahassee. The team received the award following a challenging but successful search for a lost juvenile, who was eventually located in a swamp.

K-9 Robin of the Salamanca (NY) Police Department has received the American Kennel Club’s 2009 Award for Canine Excellence in Law Enforcement. This is the first time a Golden Retriever has won the award. Robin is handled by Officer Mary R. McQueen.

The Burlington Free Press reports that K-9 Dasha of the Vermont State Police led Trooper Dan Trottier to a 10-year-old autistic boy who had been lost in a thickly wooded area for nearly 2 hours. Dasha tracked the child for approximately 1 mile into the woods and located him near a stream.

WPRI.com reports that after two men called police to report that an intruder was in their home, a K-9 with the Providence (RI) Police Department searched the house and found the intruder hiding under a bed.

Greenville (SC) police are crediting one of their K-9 officers — K-9 Fox — with possibly saving the lives of several officers when he disarmed a suspect who had pulled a gun. The suspect, John Ham, Jr., had carjacked a van containing a patient and had led police on a chase down Interstate 85. After officers shot out a tire on the van, the suspect took off on foot with officers in pursuit. K-9 Fox located the suspect and bit him on the left shoulder, whereupon Ham pulled a gun. K-9 Fox didn’t miss a beat, however — the K-9 knocked the gun from Ham’s hand, allowing officers to arrest him.

The Modesto Bee reports that several hours after tear gas was used to smoke out a robbery suspect from the attic of a house, a K-9 was sent into the building to subdue a second suspect who appeared to have withstood the gas. The Manteca, California, police K-9 climbed a ladder into the attic and used his teeth to secure the remaining suspect.