Full Circle By Corporal Greg Manis

Transcription

1 FALL 2015 LONG BEACH K-9 OFFICERS ASSOCIATION It seems if you work long enough things often will come full circle. That s how I will describe the month of December 2014 for the Unit K1. Swings are very busy especially around the holidays. But I write this article for another reason. I had the opportunity to do something I hadn t done in 23 years and something I had never been able to or ever thought I d have the pleasure of doing. My oldest of 2 sons has followed in my footsteps in Law Enforcement and was in Long Beach Academy class 86, which just got off probation in early December. I was able to get permission to partner up for 2 nights. I had been looking forward to that moment ever since he told me that he was hired. December 17th and 18 th I hung up my leash to the displeasure of Jhonny and drove off to work in a patrol uniform. I hadn t worked without a K9 partner in 23 years. Excited, I showed up to squad early and found a chair in the back row. Full Circle By Corporal Greg Manis So to understand the culture of it, guys by seniority will sit in the same seat every night and others with less time on, respect that and establish their own seat in the briefing room. I had done some reconnaissance and found out where a certain officer sits and purposely sat in his seat. You see, that person was my Academy classmate, a guy that moved with his wife in the early 90 s out to the city of Fontana with me. A guy that loved my son when he was born in 92, my son still calls him Uncle Vic to this day, and now watches over him on graveyard patrol 26 years later. And by the way he was a Long Beach K9 Handler in the 90 s with Pyro, Nector, and Shaka, Officer Vic Hafkensheid. As I waited for briefing I saw my son Chad walk in with a big smile as worked his way to the front row with the other rookies and then I see Vic walk in. He immediately smiled at me knowing I was in his seat. We had some fun with it, upon his return he let me sit in his seat for the night even though as he has told me many times that he has one seniority number on me. The two nights flew by, I got to work around my son and an old friend, which was priceless. I will always remember those two nights. I walk away reflecting from the two nights that we worked together. Chad is a confident, compassionate officer that is good at this job and treats people with respect. Although he is starting his career in a very sad time for Law Enforcement I believe that the trust and respect from 99% of the citizens will out weigh the dislike from a few. Whether he ends up handling a dog down the road or forges his own path, only time will tell. It is reassuring that my old partner, Chad s Uncle Vic is able to watch over him while I go back to my other partner Jhonny, leash in hand back to K9. Corporal Greg Manis, Officer Chad Manis, Officer Vic Hafkenscheid, 1988 Corporal Greg Manis,, Officer Vic Hafkenscheid, Officer Chad Manis, 2015 Inside this issue: President s Message 2 Sergeant s Report 2 Crime Crushers 3 Crime Crushers 5 Membership 6 Merchandise 7

2 Page 2 K9 COLLAR ASSOCIATION OFFICERS Steve Ditmars President Shirley Vaughan Vice President Nancy Cotton Financial/Financial Secretary Steve Ditmars Recording Secretary Janie Bordelon Correspondence Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS Peter Blair Vince Bunting Laura Mathews Michael McGinnis John Vogler HONORARY BOARD Thomas W. Beighlie, DVM Greetings to all our K-9 Association members, Many of you will recognize my name, but for those who are new to the K9 Officers Association I would like to introduce myself. My name is Steve Ditmars. I am a retired police officer from Long Beach PD. I retired 5 years ago as the commander of the Emergency Operations Division. I have been involved with the K9 Association since I became a handler in I was a handler for over six years and then the K9 Sergeant for almost three years. I became a K9 Association board member after I retired and have been involved since then. Many of you will know me from attending our K9 demonstrations, as I have narrated these event for many years. President s Report ated in his absence would be a challenge. Allow me to be direct, you do not replace a Dan Kachel, you hope you can find someone to carry on in his absence. With that in mind, I volunteered to fill in for the remaining few months of Dan s term. I will do my best to insure the Association continues to support the Long Beach Police K9 Unit and is accountable to our membership. Now comes my pitch to you, the K9 Association member. We need your continued support. We are looking for members who want to become more involved. Over the past few years, our Board membership has declined and we need to bring in some new, highly motivated members. Being on the Board is very rewarding, but it does involve some work. If you are interested, please contact us at Thanks for the continued opportunity to serve you all. Sincerely, Steve Ditmars Sergeant s Report By Sergeant Marcus Hodge, Air Support and K-9 Units Accountant Toni Ellis K-9 Officer Advisor Sgt. Marcus Hodge The Long Beach K-9 Officers Association is a non-profit corporation. Federal Tax ID# The K-9 Collar is published quarterly by the Long Beach K-9 Officers Association. Subscriptions are a benefit of membership in the Association. Correspondence and change of address should be mailed to: K-9 Collar P.O. Box Long Beach, CA This quarter has brought changes and challenges to the Long Beach Police Department s Police Service Dog Unit (PSDU). It is with sadness that I report Officer Valenzuela and his partner Paco resigned from the PSDU. Detective Valenzuela resigned because his application to the Department s elite Career Criminal Apprehension Team was accepted! We thank you for your years of dedicated service and wish you nothing but the best in your future position. The Detection and Patrol PSDUs have been very active training, apprehending armed and dangerous felony suspects, locating controlled substances, and assisting numerous other local, state, and federal agencies throughout the year. The Explosive and Firearm Detection PSDUs This last April, our President, Dan Kachel, announced to the Board that he was resigning in order to move to North Dakota to take care of his parents. As you can imagine, this created a bit of a stir among the board. Dan has been an integral part of the Association for a number of years and one of the most active presidents we have ever had. Dan s leadership has been a great asset to the Association and the void crehave done explosive sweeps for various events such as the Long Beach Marathon and located several concealed firearms getting them out of the hands of criminals and off the streets. The successes mentioned above are articulated in more detail in the individual handler s articles. All of the Police Service Dog Units are to be commended for their commitment to excellence, outstanding work, tremendous dedication, and they are a credit to the Long Beach Police Department and the City of Long Beach. Finally, we d like to thank the members of the Long Beach K-9 Officer Association. Your dedication and support are a direct factor in the successful operation of the Long Beach Police Department s PSDU.

3 FALL 2015 Page 3 Long Beach Police Service Dog Unit Corporal Greg Manis Jhonny Officer Bill Kift Brayen & Kai Officer Mike Parcells Credo Officer Ernie Wolosewicz Zerek, Kasia & Kazik Officer Mike Wooldridge Basco Officer Vic Ortiz Trex Officer Jerry Carter Drago & Thor Det. Luis Rodriguez Abby Det. Chris Thue Ozzy On Sunday August 16, 2015 at approximately 0400 hours, Officer J. Carter received a page from the LBPD communications center regarding an audible burglary alarm with roof access located at 69th Street and Long Beach Blvd. Upon arrival Officer Carter contacted the primary unit who advised him that a suspect cut an opening on the rooftop of the market and entered the store. Officer Carter was told while units were holding the perimeter, the alarm company was receiving motion alarms that moved from the west portion of the store back to the east. Officers on the east end of the perimeter said they could hear things falling and moving around inside the back of the store. After waiting approximately 2 hours for a responsible party to arrive with the keys for access, Officer Carter formed an emergency action team to assist with the search. After waiting a reasonable amount of time for the keys to show up, Officer Carter advised the on scene supervisor to have the Long Beach Fire Department to respond to make force entry. After the doors were opened, Officer Carter and his search team began their search for the suspect. After clearing and securing the west portion of the store, the search team moved towards the east end of the store where the cold storage room was located. Officer Carter gave two more announcements and still the suspect didn't surrender or make his presence known. Officer Carter then gave his K9 partner Thor his search command to search the storage room. Crime Crusher By Officer Jerry Carter Carter that the suspect was hiding above them. Officer Carter secured a ladder against the cold storage unit and had Thor climb the ladder. Once Thor was on top of the cold storage room Officer Carter downed him so he and the search team could tactically climb the ladder. Once on top of the cold storage room Officer Carter gave Thor his command to continue searching. Thor searched the top of the cold storage room in a north easterly direction. As Thor searched toward the north wall he made an abrupt turn toward the west wall near a square man made tunnel that was approximately 5x5. The tunnel was approximately 100 feet in length with an open top. Thor searched the tunnel in a westerly direction toward the middle of the store where he was picking up odor. Thor made contact with the suspect who was hiding under a large quantity of ceiling tiles. After K9 Thor made contact with the suspect, he was able to drag him approximately 35 feet back to the search team. Officer Carter ordered Thor to bring the suspect back to him because due to the size of the tunnel the search team would not have been able to tactically and safely make contact with the suspect. The suspect was taken in to custody without further incident. Officer Carter was told by the patrol officer they would have not found the suspect hiding without the use of the K9. K9 Thor began searching in an easterly direction toward the north wall of the market. As Thor got towards the end of the wall he began searching with his nose in the air, which indicated to Officer

4 Page 4 K9 COLLAR Guardians of Americas Freedom By Officer Ernie Wolosewicz triever Vietnam War - Gulf War - Afghanistan War - Iraq War, and the Belgian Malinois Gulf War Afghanistan War Iraq War. Behind the statues is a wall that is dedicated to dogs who gave their lives to save our troops and preserve our freedom. The inscription at the bottom read DEDICATED TO ALL U.S. MILITARY WORKING DOG HAN- DLERS AND THEIR BELOVED DOGS WHO DE- FEND AMERICA, DEFEAT THE ENEMY, AND SAVE LIVES. I recently visited Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio Texas for the graduation of my oldest son from boot camp. It was an impressive ceremony spanning two days that included a coin ceremony and announcements of the top ten percent graduates. I am proud to say my son was one of them. Upon conclusion of the ceremony we walked around the parade deck and came across a war dog memorial. The large and beautiful memorial displayed a soldier surrounded by the four breeds used during deployments in various wars. Each dog was carefully sculptured to show its courage, strength and majesty. Below each statue was an inscription depicting the wars they served in. Starting with the Doberman Pincher in WWII, The German Sheppard in WWII - Korean War-Vietnam War - Gulf War - Afghanistan War - Iraq War, The Labrador Re- The memorial is beautiful, emotional and reverent. As you walk around the statue and wall you feel the sense of love that inspired the work put into the creation of the monument. I walked behind the wall and on it was a huge mural depicting dogs and handlers in wartime settings. As I was admiring the mural, I caught a glimpse of a statue set off to the side in its own little setting. It was a memorial for the war dogs that survived, died and were left behind in the Vietnam war. The statue was of a soldier sitting down and pouring water into his helmet for his K9 Partner. His K9 partner was next to him placing a paw on his lap. There were benches around the fountain for people to sit and I chose to sit for a moment in silent prayer. While I sat there an older gentleman hobbled to the memorial, touched the dog then sat quietly on the bench. I got up to leave and as I did so I walked up the man and said, Thank you for your service and for the sacrifice your partner made. He asked how I knew and I told him all handlers who lost a K9 partner have the same look. He gave me a smile and I walked on. Service dogs, be they military or police, give us the ultimate gift, unconditional loyalty and courage. We build a bond with our dogs, we love them, and they become part of our family. The painful part of the relationship is that we know at some point that dog will be asked to sacrifice his life for ours. What is amazing is that dog will never question its mission, sometimes going to its own death so that we may live. Our service dogs are truly GOD s angels sent to protect us. If there are no dogs in heaven then when I die I want to go where they are. Will Rodgers

5 FALL 2015 Advanced K9 Training By Officer Ernie Wolosewicz Last June the K9 detail conducted its annual four day advanced K9 training school. The school is conducted in house. This gives us a chance to expose our dog to new environments, try different deployment methods, and work on skills we don t normally have time for. This year we were fortunate to train at a regional fire training center located by Castaic Lake. This fire training center is geared to search and rescue training, hazardous material response training, and large burn areas. We found that the search and rescue training locations made for excellent areas to expose our dogs and handlers to confined spaces as well as stressful searches away from the handler. We spent two days at the training location and due to the length of the training day as well as the distance from home the K9 detail stayed overnight. This allowed us to train later and start earlier the next day. The overnight stay was a good chance to bond as a team and it was filled with complaining and laughter about the days training. Day one started with a team lift obstacle course. The entire team plus one K9 had to traverse a very difficult course that could only be completed as a team. The course included tall walls, steep inclines, low crawl tunnels, drop down tunnels, and crawling through tunnels blocked by rubble and furniture. The pace was not fast but the work was difficult, and the team had to wear full tactical gear. The physical exertion coupled with record heat made for an exhausting morning. I have to say originally we planned to do all six dogs but we stopped after the third dog. Running the course three times was definitely enough. The second exercise was set around drainage tunnels. In this tunnel system we were able to deploy our dogs deep into tunnels which became progressively smaller in diameter. The handlers, dressed in full gear, followed their dogs into the tunnels to a point where the K9 located a suspect in a bite suit. The handler had the option of verbally outing the dog and calling him back or having to crawl fifty feet to the opening and making the dog manually release. Some of the handlers were successful in making the K9 release and call back while others had to make the trek. This exercise forced the K9 to search in a dark confined space; all of our dogs did well. The third exercise was a large area search where the team had to locate a suspect armed with a rifle. The team, of course, was dressed in full tactical gear and used one dog to seek out the suspect. The area was large and it encompassed a section that recreated the 405 freeway. The search area ended by a large warehouse / factory style building. The handlers were responsi- Page 5 ble for directing the search team as well as directing and monitoring their dog. In some instances handlers made the correct choice of relieving a dog for a fresh dog to continue the search. The use of the dog was invaluable. The search teams were able to locate the suspect and avoid being compromised or shot. This exercise proved once more that the K9 saves lives by providing the search team time and distance when searching for a suspect. The last exercise for the day was a building search. Much like everything else at this facility it was not a normal building. The building had uneven floors, steep metal staircase and an airplane that crashed into the second floor. Yes, they actually lodged a real plane through the wall. The search made the K9 traverse objects and awkward angles. The handler had to practice redirection and avoid letting the K9 get too deep into the building. The first day proved to be a difficult and challenging training day. We were all hot,tired, and ready for a good meal. I think all of our dogs went to sleep quick and early that night. Day two started with the obstacle course again. Only this time we were all sore and tired from the day before so it seemed twice as difficult. When we finished the Obstacle course we visited the HAZ-MAT training warehouse. The HAZ-MAT warehouse was designed to train HAZ-MAT teams to make entry into loud, smoky, wet and hazardous environments. The effects are controlled from a booth that has cameras to monitor all areas of the warehouse. The technician set an environment that had loud machinery and dense smoke. We placed a decoy in a bite suit in the warehouse for the K9 to find. The loud noise and thick smog proved to be a good detractor at first, but the dogs settled in and conducted a good search. All of our dogs were able to work through the noise and smoke and locate the suspect. The final exercise of the day was at the fire burn tower. This building was about six stories high and had several towers at different heights. It was designed to train fireman on tall structure fires. For this exercise we have the handlers pull the K9 up the side of a building about two stories high, then enter the building and work their way down a dark stairwell. In the stairwell we placed targets. The handler had to shoot the targets, with SIMMUNITIONS while maintaining the K9 on a search. The search was stressful for both the dog and handler but all the Continued on page 6

6 Page 6 K9 COLLAR Continued from page 5 teams did well and completed their task by locating the decoy in the end. The next two days of training included helicopter operations and boat operations. We tried a new deployment method for boat operations. We had the police boat back up to the shoreline, the K9 was sent into the water on a directed deployment to the decoy on shore. The K9 had to swim about twenty five yards before reaching the shore and the decoy. Some of the teams were able to verbally out the dogs and have them swim back to shore. Our K9 partners are truly incredible animals. The K9 detail put out tremendous effort and showed true motivation through some mentally and physically challenging training days. The teams worked well individually and as a team. The years of knowledge and experience our K9 detail helped them tackle the difficult scenarios and provide good training ideas for each other. We would like to thank the K9 association for their support by funding the overnight stay. Without it the intense training would not have been possible. As always your support makes our K9 detail better. Check us out on Facebook and visit our web site for more information regarding our activities. See our souvenir items with LBK9OA logos available for sale. You can also donate via our web site through PayPal using your credit card. Name: MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/RENEWAL FORM Address: MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/RENEWAL FORM City: State: Zip: Ph:( ) - Date: Individual $35.00/yr Corporate $100.00/yr Please accept my application for membership in the Long Beach K-9 Officers Association. Appropriate payment for membership has been enclosed. This is a RENEWAL application, please expedite. Appropriate payment enclosed. This is a DONATION, Please put to good use for the K-9 Program! Donation amount: $ Method of payment: (circle one) Check Enclosed MasterCard Visa Card Credit Card Account # / / / Card Expiration Date / Signature: (For credit card only) Mail Application to: Long Beach K-9 Officers Association P.O. Box Long Beach, CA

7 FALL 2015 Page 7 Long Beach K-9 Officers Association Merchandise Adult T-Shirt Colors: Black, Red or Gray Sizes Medium, Large, X-Large $17.00 ea XX-Large $20.00 ea Shirts w/ pocket - Sizes: Large, X-Large $18.00 ea Glow in the Dark KEY CHAIN KID S T-SHIRT $1.00 ea $8.00 ea White or Light Blue Sizes 3T, X-Small, Small, Medium COMMUTER MUG $7.00 ea Mug is blue w/gold lettering. Plastic, insulated. Shepherd Bloodhound HATS $12.00 ea Adjustable One size fits most Shepherd Standard Ball cap - White/Royal, Black, Khaki/Navy Summer Mesh Cap - Black, Charcoal/Black, Khaki/Navy LICENSE PLATE FRAME $3.00 ea or 2 for $5.00 CHALLENGE COINS $10.00 NEW All proceeds go to support the Long Beach K-9 Officers Association, a non-profit group. To provide funds to replace dogs killed in the line of duty or retired due to illness or advanced age. To provide continued medical care for retired dogs. (Federal Tax ID # )

8 LB K9 Officers Association P.O. Box Long Beach, CA NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID LONG BEACH, CA PERMIT 423 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Saturday May 14th, :00 am - 3:00 pm LB Police Officers Association Park (behind Wal Mart & Lowe s at Towne Center) Come have lunch, see some great cars, and meet the K-9 teams!