The Police Department currently operates one K9 team:
Officer Gobbo & K9 Zeus
K9 Zeus is a male German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix, and was acquired from Castle’s K9 in December 2009. Officer Gobbo and K9 Zeus are certified in patrol work, including tracking, narcotics, and article searches.
Duties
A canine has remarkable olfactory and hearing senses that allow them to perform functions that can assist patrol officers. The canine handler team can be used in support of the patrol officers in the following situations.
- Building Searches - The canine can search buildings and homes where alarms have been received or crimes in progress have been detected.
- Crime Scene Searching - The canine can point out objects within an area on the ground that are of evidentiary value.
- Criminal Apprehension - The canine may be called upon to apprehend and contain a fleeing suspect, preventing the use of greater force to subdue a fleeing or combative suspect.
- Narcotics Detection - Locating the presence of hidden narcotics in vehicles, buildings, or other structures.
- Open Area Searches - Locating dangerous and hiding suspects that could pose a danger to officers in open vegetated areas.
- Tracking - The canine tracks human scent. Tracking is used mostly is tracking suspects from the scene of various crimes.
