By Carole Firstman
It was an afternoon a couple of years ago; the city of Visalia was on high alert. A violent mentally disturbed man, who was being held at Kaweah Delta hospital for evaluation, escaped from custody. The local police tracked him to a single-wide mobile home and ordered him to surrender. He did not.
Visalia Police Officer Clay Moffett and his K9 partner Bosco entered the building. The windows were covered with sheets, darkening the interior and adding another layer of danger to a tense situation. Officer Moffett again warned the man and Bosco barked his warning too. The dog was on high alert and ready for action. As they searched the dark spaces inside the mobile home, the six-foot-three-inch, 280-pound man hid behind a door, silent and still.
Bosco found the man first and moved in. But even as the police dog was attempting to apprehend the man, using the K9 training and natural advantages, the man didn’t make a sound. Instead of surrendering or crying out, he waited silently, then lunged at Officer Moffett with a knife.
Officer Moffett moved quickly but the large man pinned him to the floor between the wall and a bed with Moffett’s hands beneath him. Bosco was still hard at work attempting to take down the suspect, but he was wedged between the two men. The suspect plunged his knife down at the officer again and again. Bosco took the brunt of the knife wounds, but he never disengaged, never let up.
It all happened in a flash. And luckily, the ending was a good one. The man was apprehended; Bosco was treated for two stab wounds and was back to work in a few days. As for Officer Moffett, he was virtually unharmed.
Although situations this dire are relatively rare, Officer Moffett gained a deeper appreciation of his K9 partner Bosco from it. “He saved my life. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Bosco,” says Moffett. The incident validated all his commitment and training and earned the Medal of Valor for the devoted Bosco, the only non-human to receive the award in the history of the Visalia Police Department.
Every canine handler has stories to tell: apprehending suspects, finding murder weapons, locating lost people, the list goes on. Canine forces are one of the fastest growing and accepted tools in law enforcement’s fight against crime. According to statistics, they are well worth the cost.
A semi-trained dog costs about $8,000. Additional costs include training for the hander and the dog, veterinary care, dog food, and equipment. The team needs a modified patrol vehicle to accommodate the dog, a temperature control monitor, remote door release functions, a vest, leashes, tracking leads, bite sleeves, and other training tools, as well as a kennel for home. These figures add up to about $14,000 upfront, with food and veterinary costs continuing for the career term of the dog.
That may sound like a high cost for a dog, but consider it this way—Cost of putting a dog on the street: fourteen grand. Lives saved: priceless.
More practically, these four-legged crime fighters pencil in at only about $1.81 per “working” hour when calculated over the dog’s career. A number of agencies, like the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, have been fortunate enough that the community and non-profit organizations have helped with the cost to purchase each of the dogs they have in service. Some of these furry crime fighters have even been named after the organizations that supported them, like Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Hunziger’s partner, Harley, who was named after the Visalia Harley Owners Group.
Loyal partners
We all know that dog has been man’s best friend for thousands of years. It was in the 1800s, though, that dogs began their formal entry into law enforcement. Imagine a 19th century constable walking the beat in the bustling cities of Paris, London, Berlin, or New York. At that time the only weapon the constable had at his disposal was his nightstick. On-duty injuries and deaths were of great concern, as criminals armed with knives and pistols were quick to take advantage of the meagerly armed constable.
It was about this time that law enforcement officials throughout Europe began using canines in their agencies. It was a cutting-edge notion at that time, one that decreased injuries and deaths of constables. These dogs proved their worth quickly. Arrest rates went up and police casualties dropped to an all-time low. The trend in police canines has continued to grow. Today the United States Police Canine Association speculates there are well over 10,000 dogs serving across the nation.
The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department K9 Unit was formed about thirty years ago, the first of its kind in Tulare County. Along with VPD and Farmersville PD, the TCSD units have become an integral part of the day-to-day operations of patrol divisions. The dogs have helped make numerous felony and misdemeanor arrests, many under difficult circumstances; many of these arrests would not have been possible without these dogs.
The K9 Edge
So what is so special about having a dog on the force? A dog’s sense of smell is about 700 times more sensitive than a human’s. A dog’s ability to see movement is unquestionably better than man’s. In a building search, a dog can help apprehend a suspect within minutes, while an officer alone may have to take hours. A single K9 team (one officer and one dog) can search a building seven times faster than a team of four officers. Studies document that K9 teams have an overall success rate of 93% in search situations—human-only teams had only a 59% success rate.
There are two types of police service dogs: patrol dogs and detection dogs. A patrol dog assists in basic patrol functions including property detection, tracking, and apprehension. All Tulare County dogs are trained as patrol dogs. Some are also cross-trained in detection of specific substances including narcotics and explosives.
The mere presence of a police dog is often enough to convince the bad guys to surrender. Other times, as in the case with Moffett and Bosco, precise, immediate action makes the difference between life and death.
Although it is a great prevention tool, just having a police dog is not enough. The handlers must be skilled and the dogs thoroughly trained. It is said that “you can handle a well trained dog by giving it appropriate direction, but you cannot train a dog simply by learning how to handle it.”
While on and off duty, these dogs live with their partner officers and even become part of their family. The bond between a dog and its handler are deep. They train together, work together and in the case of Moffett and Bosco, living together takes on a deeper meaning.
Dog training is an arduous process. “Most police dogs come from Europe” where they get their initial training, says Officer Jay Brock of FPD, who handles a bomb detection canine for his department, and helps with team training sessions for a variety of agencies. By about age two, the dogs already know basic obedience and attack maneuvers. They respond to directives via hand signals as well as voice commands in several languages. When an American officer calls out commands in Dutch, French, or German, he tells his dog exactly what to do without giving the bad guy any advantages.
The local canine forces are made up of German Shepherds and Belgian Malinoises. These breeds are revered for their ability to adapt well to police work and vehicle workspace. Their staunch loyalty, dignified conduct, agility, and intelligence are equaled by few breeds.
“These dogs come to the United States at about two years of age,” says Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Rodriguez. Once here, they receive additional training at a licensed canine academy before they are finally purchased by local law enforcement agencies. After the department makes a decision to purchase a canine, it is matched to a specific officer. TCSD Deputy Brandee Robinson was recently introduced to her new partner and will undergo a bonding period as well as their first round of training as a new team. Thereafter, the industry standard for continued canine maintenance training is a minimum of sixteen hours a month. “All of our local agencies exceed those requirements,” says Brock.
Our local K9 teams take their skill levels very seriously. These officers understand not only how valuable an asset a canine is to their department, but also to themselves as their partner. “You learn to trust your dog,” says Agent Mark Lyon of VPD. These canine handlers knowingly accept the twenty-four hour, seven day a week challenge of not only working and living with a canine, but training above and beyond the required hours their department mandates for their own benefit.