Community policing at work
RPD showing its teeth this time, literally.
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K-9 units add teeth to law enforcement
Richmond department a pioneer in use of dogs to sniff out drugs and other criminal activity
By Sean Aronson
TIMES CORRESPONDENT
RICHMOND - Twenty kids and their parents gathered at the St. David School baseball field on a recent weekend for the first Fall Festival and patiently awaited the arrival of Arrow, a 6-year-old Dutch shepherd in the Richmond Police Department canine unit.
"We're gonna keep an eye on the dope," canine Officer William Cantrell, Arrow's handler, told one of the parents.
Cantrell placed a small amount of marijuana in a yellow envelope and put it under a large orange cone in the grass. He also placed a plastic toy gun in the grass.
On command, Arrow charged for the cone and tipped it, revealing the marijuana. A few minutes later, he took the gun in his mouth and dropped it at Cantrell's feet. The officer gave Arrow a toy and congratulated him for the good work.
The Richmond canine unit does about 20 such demonstrations a year, Cantrell said, to show the public police and dogs working together. He also views the demonstrations as a way to deter children from using drugs by showing just how effective dogs are at finding narcotics.
"Maybe it will make some of these kids think twice about using drugs," Cantrell said.
Richmond formed its canine unit in 1961, making it the second-oldest in Northern California, to cut the number of officers needed to patrol industrial areas and large commercial buildings by half. Dogs work faster and more efficiently.
The canine unit is also instrumental in fighting crime, allowing police to get to difficult areas and cover a lot of ground quickly. They are most effective in tracking down runaway suspects.
"They're trained to find people, not bite them," said Sgt. Mitch Peixoto, canine unit coordinator.
Most in the audience marveled at the speed and accuracy with which Arrow found the gun and marijuana. Some of the children wanted to move closer to get a better look, but Cantrell cautioned them to stay back, prohibiting petting while Arrow was at work.
Still, no one seemed the least bit frightened.
"I think the dog looks cute," said 8-year-old Mirabel Sanchez , who was eating cotton candy while she watched with her mother.
Richmond teams -- handler and canine -- regularly place in the top five at the annual Sheriff's Canine Competition, a statewide event. Because it is so well-regarded, the Richmond canine unit often does work for other police departments as well.
"We go all over the Bay Area with our dogs," Peixoto said.
For the better part of three decades, Richmond police used German shepherds for their canine unit. The breed is aggressive and easy to train. The dogs also have incredible tracking abilities.
"You can't get a better dog that will track and find a person," Peixoto said.
But their large size was often intimidating to the public, according to Lt. Mark Gagan. In a predominantly African-American city, police were conscious of the images police dogs carried from the civil rights era, he added.
"Any time we use force, we have to be aware of the community perceptions," Gagan said.
For this and other reasons, the department in 1988 introduced the Belgian Malinois into the unit. Malinois are the most popular police dog and currently account for five of six dogs in the Richmond unit. Arrow is the only shepherd.
Malinois are smaller and faster than shepherds. They also can work as a police dog for up to 12 years, almost double the average career of a shepherd. And, most importantly, they are less intimidating to the public.
"They can tell the difference between work and play," Peixoto said.
Most often the canine unit does narcotics searches in a city that faces a huge problem with drug trafficking and use, Peixoto said. Each dog in the force undergoes five weeks of narcotics training.
"If he can't pass dope (training), I'm getting a new dog," Peixoto said.
On Peixoto's first official narcotics search with his dog, Phoenix, they found 13 pounds of cocaine tucked into the back of a water heater inside a house -- something officers likely would have missed.
At the St. David School demonstration, Cantrell led Arrow into his patrol vehicle after many of the children had a chance to take pictures with the officer and the dog.
Cantrell was clearly enjoying the work.
"If I can influence 20 kids to have more respect for police work, I'm making my job easier in the long run," he said.
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Meanwhile, the Tazer wonders how purported Mayor-Elect McLaughlin feels about dogs being enslaved by humans, and if these fascist K9 unit demonstrations at all address the "root causes of crime."
Arrow the Dog wasn't even recruiting for the "Youth Corps," after all...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K-9 units add teeth to law enforcement
Richmond department a pioneer in use of dogs to sniff out drugs and other criminal activity
By Sean Aronson
TIMES CORRESPONDENT
RICHMOND - Twenty kids and their parents gathered at the St. David School baseball field on a recent weekend for the first Fall Festival and patiently awaited the arrival of Arrow, a 6-year-old Dutch shepherd in the Richmond Police Department canine unit.
"We're gonna keep an eye on the dope," canine Officer William Cantrell, Arrow's handler, told one of the parents.
Cantrell placed a small amount of marijuana in a yellow envelope and put it under a large orange cone in the grass. He also placed a plastic toy gun in the grass.
On command, Arrow charged for the cone and tipped it, revealing the marijuana. A few minutes later, he took the gun in his mouth and dropped it at Cantrell's feet. The officer gave Arrow a toy and congratulated him for the good work.
The Richmond canine unit does about 20 such demonstrations a year, Cantrell said, to show the public police and dogs working together. He also views the demonstrations as a way to deter children from using drugs by showing just how effective dogs are at finding narcotics.
"Maybe it will make some of these kids think twice about using drugs," Cantrell said.
Richmond formed its canine unit in 1961, making it the second-oldest in Northern California, to cut the number of officers needed to patrol industrial areas and large commercial buildings by half. Dogs work faster and more efficiently.
The canine unit is also instrumental in fighting crime, allowing police to get to difficult areas and cover a lot of ground quickly. They are most effective in tracking down runaway suspects.
"They're trained to find people, not bite them," said Sgt. Mitch Peixoto, canine unit coordinator.
Most in the audience marveled at the speed and accuracy with which Arrow found the gun and marijuana. Some of the children wanted to move closer to get a better look, but Cantrell cautioned them to stay back, prohibiting petting while Arrow was at work.
Still, no one seemed the least bit frightened.
"I think the dog looks cute," said 8-year-old Mirabel Sanchez , who was eating cotton candy while she watched with her mother.
Richmond teams -- handler and canine -- regularly place in the top five at the annual Sheriff's Canine Competition, a statewide event. Because it is so well-regarded, the Richmond canine unit often does work for other police departments as well.
"We go all over the Bay Area with our dogs," Peixoto said.
For the better part of three decades, Richmond police used German shepherds for their canine unit. The breed is aggressive and easy to train. The dogs also have incredible tracking abilities.
"You can't get a better dog that will track and find a person," Peixoto said.
But their large size was often intimidating to the public, according to Lt. Mark Gagan. In a predominantly African-American city, police were conscious of the images police dogs carried from the civil rights era, he added.
"Any time we use force, we have to be aware of the community perceptions," Gagan said.
For this and other reasons, the department in 1988 introduced the Belgian Malinois into the unit. Malinois are the most popular police dog and currently account for five of six dogs in the Richmond unit. Arrow is the only shepherd.
Malinois are smaller and faster than shepherds. They also can work as a police dog for up to 12 years, almost double the average career of a shepherd. And, most importantly, they are less intimidating to the public.
"They can tell the difference between work and play," Peixoto said.
Most often the canine unit does narcotics searches in a city that faces a huge problem with drug trafficking and use, Peixoto said. Each dog in the force undergoes five weeks of narcotics training.
"If he can't pass dope (training), I'm getting a new dog," Peixoto said.
On Peixoto's first official narcotics search with his dog, Phoenix, they found 13 pounds of cocaine tucked into the back of a water heater inside a house -- something officers likely would have missed.
At the St. David School demonstration, Cantrell led Arrow into his patrol vehicle after many of the children had a chance to take pictures with the officer and the dog.
Cantrell was clearly enjoying the work.
"If I can influence 20 kids to have more respect for police work, I'm making my job easier in the long run," he said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, the Tazer wonders how purported Mayor-Elect McLaughlin feels about dogs being enslaved by humans, and if these fascist K9 unit demonstrations at all address the "root causes of crime."
Arrow the Dog wasn't even recruiting for the "Youth Corps," after all...
posted by Plunda Claus @ 12:09 PM
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