message from the chief's office... - Spokane Police Department

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K-9 Beny
K-9 DOGS RETIRE
K-9 Beny retired in October of 2008 due to age-related health issues. Beny
was a patrol dog partnered with Officer Craig Hamilton when he was first assigned
to the K-9 Unit in February of 2004. Beny was a sport-trained German Shepherd
imported from the Czech Republic. They were immediately successful when they
hit the street. Beny retired with 157 criminal captures and 36 evidence finds.
Two examples of Beny’s captures are tracking a suspect that fled from a
stolen vehicle to the Spokane River near Downriver Golf Course. They located the
suspect who was quite a ways out in the river concealed in the darkness and overgrowth.
The river was still very cold, and if not located, the suspect might certainly
have died there in his efforts to escape arrest. In another instance, Beny also
tracked and located a male suspect that tried to burn down his own house with his
wife and kids still inside. Beny will spend retirement on Craig’s property with his
other dogs.
K-9 Var retired just last month, also due to age related health issues
at 10 years of age. Var, also a patrol dog, was partnered with Officer Dan
Lesser in January 2001. Var too was a German Shepherd imported from the
Czech Republic. Officer Lesser, a SWAT team member, then became the primary
SWAT K-9 with Var, who quickly became an essential part of the team.
Var had 237 criminal captures and 8 evidence finds in his career.
One example of Var’s many captures was locating a suspect who
killed a 3 year old girl. The suspect was aware the police were searching for
him and hid himself in a house. Var located the suspect who had actually
concealed himself behind a false wall in the basement. Without Var, this
suspect would most likely have escaped detection.
On Var’s last night of service last month, he captured another homicide
suspect from a stabbing, also hiding in a basement. The story of Var’s
significant capture on his last night was actually picked up by the Associated
Press and made newspapers all over the country. Var will spend his retirement
with Ofc Lesser’s family.
K-9 Var
**
K-9 Jasmine, a drug dog, recently passed away last month. Jasmine
was a Rottweiler and Golden Retriever mix that was donated to Spokane Police
Department. Jasmine was trained in drug detection by the K-9 Unit. She
was partnered with Officer Ernie Wuthrich for a short while in 1996, and then
partnered with Officer Eric Olsen when he needed a new K-9. When Eric was
promoted to Detective in 1997, Officer Tracie Meidl was selected as his replacement
and partnered with Jasmine. Tracie and Jasmine worked as a team
until the Drug Dog program was disbanded due to budget cuts in 2004.
(Chief Kirkpatrick brought the program back in early 2007.)
For those who had the opportunity to watch Tracie and Jasmine at
work, they would agree that they were truly an impressive team. In one instance,
instead of going inside to search a car after an arrest as directed, Jasmine
immediately dove under the car and alerted on a substantial quantity of
methamphetamine. The driver had dropped the drugs to the ground
K-9 Jasmine through a hole near the car’s gear shift, knowing that officers would not think
to look on the ground. It did not fool Jasmine’s nose however, and the driver was arrested.
In another case, Jasmine alerted to a package that had been sent through the mail. After obtaining
a search warrant, the package was opened. The box was completely sealed in tape. Inside the box was a
zip-lock bag full of laundry detergent. Inside this bag was a spice jar that had been sealed with hot glue.
Instead of spice, the jar was full of methamphetamine. These are just a couple of examples of Jasmine’s thousands
of drug finds over her years of service.
These dogs are responsible for the arrest of hundreds of criminal suspects that would have otherwise
escaped, and they did it only for the praise of their handlers. Besides capturing criminals, they showed off
their skills in hundreds of demonstrations, creating plenty of goodwill for the Spokane Police Department.
The Spokane Police Department K-9 Unit is renown throughout the northwest United States because of our
quality K-9 teams like these.
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