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April 26, 2006

Every dog has his day: New canine team fitting in well for EPD

By Cass Rains Staff Writer

Adam has been training his entire life for the job he officially began at Enid Police Department in late March.

Already, he and his partner Steve Miller have shown results.

In their first eight days working as partners, Miller and Adam took more than $12,500 in cash, 3,221 grams of marijuana, 2.5 grams of methamphetamine and 1.6 grams of cocaine off the streets during searches.

Adam, a 16-month-old, 57-pound Belgian Malinois, is fitting right in the K-9 Unit, helping with the shift in the unit’s objectives.

Over the past year, the focus of EPD’s K-9 unit has drifted more toward interdiction, and the shift has paid off.

“It has been real successful the past year,” EPD Lt. Dean Grassino said.

Miller and Adam have been training with EPD’s other K-9 officers, Ryan Fuxa, and his dog, Rex, and Justin Lamle, and his dog, Thor.

The three officers train 20 hours a month, almost twice the standard required, Grassino said, working their dogs to perform duties such as narcotics searches, tracking and officer protection.

Miller trained for five weeks in Kansas, where the second portion of Adam’s training was completed. Miller also had to spend time with Adam to form a bond between the animal and the handler.

“We practice a lot,” Miller said. “It’s constant repetition.”

Miller said, so far the switch from officer to K-9 officer has been good.

“We do a lot of work, doing interdiction and providing backup for other officers,” Miller said. “It’s a lot more work than most think. It’s becoming a normal routine now.”

Grassino said the dogs stay at the homes of the K-9 officers they are assigned to, and the officers have the option to adopt the dogs once they are retired.

EPD requires its dogs to come in to service between 1 and 2 years old.

He said the typical dog works and trains with the officer for seven to 10 “patrol years.”

“For what the dogs can do in the way of searches and officer protection, they have all been very good investments,” Grassino said.

Procedures also are in place to ensure the right K-9 officers are selected.

Officers within the department are solicited, and those interested must submit letters of application and agree to a specified commitment to the K-9 unit.

The officers who do that must then pass fitness and written exams and complete an oral interview. Then, the applying officers are ranked, with a final selection made by the police chief.

“It’s an in-depth process,” Grassino said, “it ensures we get officers who are willing to make the commitment.”

The commitment goes beyond the regular 20 hours of training. K-9 officers spend several hours a day with their dogs, grooming, feeding and practicing daily training.

Capt. Brian O’Rourke said the department was “extremely pleased” to have another K-9 team working interdiction.

“We think interdiction is extremely important in the overall impact it has on narcotics,” O’Rourke said. “With Steve’s experience, we should see good impact on the drugs.”

Despite the differences between his old duties and his new, Miller said he enjoyed working as a K-9 officer.

“It’s more fun than I thought it would be,” Miller said. “It’s a lot different than when I was on the street.”

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