Working K-9 officers 'immeasurable'
Sunday, July 28, 2002
By Laura Irvine
The Star
Ricco, Nikki and Blu lead lives typical of those in law enforcement. They often work late into the night. They are expertly trained to serve and protect. They've apprehended murder suspects, tracked down drugs and determined the origin of fires. Their reward for the hard work isn't a paycheck, though. They are happy with a few pats on the head, a chew toy and a bed on the floor. They are carefully trained and highly effective working dogs who partner with humans to solve crimes. Evidence suggests humans began using dogs in various working capacities nearly 8,000 years ago, according to Bob Fleming, a Steger police officer and owner of Landheim Training Center in Dyer, Ind. "K-9s", an abbreviation police departments use for the word canine, were put to work in the United States shortly after World War II.
According to Fleming, k-9s are effective in fighting crime because of their ability to sniff out trouble and work faster than humans in some cases. "K-9s are a huge asset. It's undeniable now," he said. "They're such a deterrent." K-9s go on patrol with officers and detect explosives, cadavers, and even illegal fruits and vegetables at customs stations. Many law enforcement officers agree the value of k-9 work is immeasurable since the job is to do what humans often cannot — fit into small crevices, use their keen sense of smell to find things the human olfactory system cannot and, when necessary, physically take down suspects who attempt to flee. To become a team, k-9s and police officers must go through many hours of training.
Fleming has taught k-9s and officers in "well over 100 agencies around Chicago," he said, from Plainfield to Chicago Heights. He spends eight to 16 weeks training dogs, which he buys from Europe, before police officers arrive to train with their new partners for another six weeks. Classes are limited to six officers, and officers must pass written tests, a final exam and a field test with their k-9 before graduating. Sgt. Michael Homberg, who leads the Will County sheriff department's k-9 unit, said his dogs go through a minimum of 400 hours of training. "That's minimum certification for us," he said. "It's kind of like a new police officer. It takes six months to one year for them to be a good team with their handlers." The k-9s and their partners must train an additional 14 hours per month, and handlers are expected to work with their dogs independently.
Park Forest police officer Ralph Padilla, who trained at Landheim with bloodhound Blu, a tracking dog, spends an average of four hours per week working with him. Labrador retriever Nikki, an arson dog, must be re-certified each year to continue working with her partner, Mitch Kushner, an arson investigator with the office of the state fire marshal. For k-9s out on patrol, there is always a risk that criminals will act out on the dog, so police departments take steps to protect the dogs.
Will County's three k-9s wear bulletproof vests, which also protect them from being kicked and punched. Some suspects have tried to gouge out a dog's eyes, Homberg said. Robert Maeyama, Park Forest director of police, said bloodhound Blu wears a bulletproof reflector vest while tracking. K-9s are protected under Illinois law, and penalties vary depending on whether a dog is injured or killed by someone.
Fleming wouldn't elaborate on the penalties, he said, in order to protect the dogs because he believes the laws could be better. "This is pretty serious. I think it should be treated seriously," he said. It is a felony to kill a working k-9, he said. Maeyama added: "We have made several arrests on people who have taunted the dogs." Many times, though, the dogs alone are enough of a deterrent for suspects to leave them alone. "Suspects want to fight us," Fleming said. "When they hear the dog barking though, they don't even try." Many k-9s have protected their partners in the line of duty. "We've had officers who have had their lives saved by a dog," Fleming said.
Laura Irvine may be reached at (708)
802-8816 or via e-mail at lirvine@starnewspapers.com
Police dog on the scent of murder-case suspect
By Matt Kelley - The Star
A Park Forrest, Illinois police dog was pivotal in helping investigators track down a suspect in a home-invasion murder that occurred in Country Club Hills, Illinois. Country Club Hills police Wednesday were questioning three suspects about last week's home-invasion murder. However, as of midday Wednesday, no charges had been filed. "We have three people of interest that we are looking at very closely," Country Club Hills Police Chief William Brown said Wednesday morning. Brown said charges hinged on blood test results, which likely will be finished this week. Park Forest's police blood hound, Blu, led investigators Saturday to one suspect whom investigators chased for nearly a mile in Dixmoor. The break came two days after the Thursday slaying that has disrupted a quiet city block.
Intruders broke into a house in the 17700 block of Arlington Drive at about 9 p.m. and waited for Torrey James, 23, and his girlfriend, 19, to return home according to police. James' mother and 3-year-old child were home when the intruders allegedly entered the house. While James' mother, girlfriend and child were in a
Brown said "developed information" led Country Club Hills and state police investigators to Dixmoor Saturday night, searching for three suspects. When police arrived at a Dixmoor trailer park Saturday afternoon, they attempted to arrest three suspects hiding in a mobile home. One escaped, according to Ralph Padilla, the Park Forest patrol officer who handles Blu. With officers and three police German shepherds unable to follow the man's trail, state police called in Blue and Padilla at 5:50 p.m. Saturday. At that time, police had two suspects in custody. The third had escaped around 2 p.m., Padilla said. As the third suspect fled the scene, he dropped a comb, Padilla said, which Blue used to pick up his scent. Blu followed the man's path east from the mobile home along railroad tracks. Blu laid down on a jacket, showing Padilla that it belonged to the suspect, Padilla said. After following the scent for more that a mile and a half, Blue led investigators into a large drainage pipe, where they saw fresh footprints. Near a fence that separates the tracks from a junkyard, Blue began to bark vigorously, Padilla said. Seconds later, police spotted the suspect hiding between junked cars, he said. The junkyard, U-Pull-It, is near Interstate 57 in Dixmoor. "He starts barking and howling like crazy when he gets close," Padilla , who trains with Blu three times a week at an Indiana Facility.
Park Forest bought the dog in April. Blu, who turns 2 later this month, lives at Padilla's home. Padilla said Blu has already had several successes, but Saturday was his biggest. "It was phenomenal" Padilla said. "I couldn't believe how nice the dog worked." park Forest police Capt. Francis DioGuardi said his department was happy to help investigators further their case. "It was like textbook stuff you see on TV," DioGuardi said. "We're very high on this whole scenario because it worked out so well."
Matt Kelley may be reached at (708) 802-8812 or via email at mkelley@starnewspapers.com