Canine cops part of police force

Scott Csernyik

2/18/2003 12:00:00 AM

The newest officers to join the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Department have a nose for finding bad guys and sniffing out illegal activity.

Arco, a two-year-old German Shepherd, is used to sniff out illegal drugs. Three-year-old Mika, a Belgian Malinois, has been trained to find explosive devices. Both dogs are also used to track and conduct article searches. They joined the police force in November and were sworn in as officers on Feb. 7.

"They are a welcome addition to the force," stated Capt. Joe Kequom. "The dogs are a tool for us to search for narcotics and in response to bombs."

Since November, the dogs have went out on about 30 calls. They were trained at Northern Michigan K-9, Inc. in Harrison and respond to two dozen commands in Dutch, according to Kequom.

"We've had dogs before in the department, and these are their replacements," he added.

Arco's handler is K-9 Officer Gary Foco, while Mika works with K-9 Officer Russell Uphold. Both officers were enthusiastic about their new partners and the animal magnetism they generate.

"In my 12 years in law enforcement, this is probably the most exciting thing I've done. I love it," stated Uphold. "It's a whole different part of law enforcement. When you take the dog for a walk near a crowd or into a school, people flock to him. But when you're by yourself and just in uniform, the contact isn't there. People have a tendency to shy away."

As in any relationship, understanding tendencies of a partner creates a bond that builds trust. Foco said this was one of the challenges in working with Arco.

"We'd be tracking in the snow where the prints were visible and Arco would go the other way," he explained. "He wouldn't follow the tracks, but would trust his scent and in the end we'd end up at the same destination."

"When we were training at Northern Michigan, Brian Gregory kept telling us, �trust your dog, trust your dog,'" added Uphold.

Taking on the responsibility of a K-9 officer also presents more inherent dangers than a patrol officer due to the nature of the position.

"They told us a �normal' law enforcement officer may be faced with a violent conflict 1 in 1,600 instances," explained Uphold. "For a K-9 officer, that drops to 1 in 2."

When tracking, Foco said the handler is focused on the dog and its mannerisms, leaving one vulnerable and having to rely on their backup.

"When you're tracking someone with a gun or knife, they could be hiding anywhere," he explained. "You depend on that other person, that backup, because you're watching the dog. You can definitely tell when you're getting close to the suspect because the dog's whole body English changes."

The K-9 officers said they train daily with their partners, even if it is for 15 minutes.

"It prevents them from getting lazy," Foco said. "Working with the dog has been great as well as the contact with people. The dog brings good people to you, or if they are bad guys, they are staying away from the dog."