City of Glendale K9 Unit
K-9 Sam Gets Extra Credit
January 2, 2008
Apparently, K-9 Sam is not satisfied with just being able to find suspects, evidence, and explosives. Now Sam can brag about being able to find drugs…well, not really. After officers caught a suspect after a short foot pursuit on Wednesday, December 16th, 2008, they believed that the suspect may have thrown evidence during the chase. Officers checked the area but were not able to find anything. K-9 Sam responded to the scene and conducted an “Article Search,” where he uses his keen sense of smell to locate anything with fresh human odor on it. Sam checked the side yard of the residence where the suspect ran and alerted to a folded up dollar bill that was slightly camouflaged by leaves. Inside the dollar bill was several pieces of crack cocaine. Sam also alerted his handler to a high area above the location of the dollar bill. Officer Sholtis checked the top of an ivy-covered block wall and found the suspect’s lighter tangled in the vines. Although Sam can now say that he found drugs, realistically what he alerted to was the human scent on the discarded items. Either way, thanks to Sam, the suspect has to answer for his offense AND a dangerous drug was recovered by officers instead of a curious child. Once again, K-9 Sam saved the day!
Happy Holidays From The K-9 Unit
December 17, 2008
(Left to Right, Quwai, Sam, Yudy, and Marlin)
K-9 Marlin Finds the Hidden Dope
December 17, 2008
On June 27, 2008 Officers C. Mc Donald and J. Barajas had conducted a traffic stop and found drug paraphernalia in the suspect vehicle. They also located several crucial pieces of evidence suggesting the suspect was a drug dealer selling in the Glendale area. Both officers had searched the vehicle and could not find any narcotics. They called for a K-9 unit. “Marlin” and I responded to search the vehicle.
“Marlin” searched the vehicle and alerted to a back seat area on the passenger side. Both Officer C. Mc Donald and I searched the rear seat area and noticed a head rest that was attached to the back wall. As we detached the headrest we noticed the foam in the back area had been hallowed out. A significant amount of narcotics and a scale was located in the hallowed out portion. Once the suspect noticed “Marlin” had found the hidden compartment he admitted to selling drugs in the area. Thanks to “Marlin’s” nose we were able to take a drug dealer off the streets. Great job once again!
Early Morning Wake-Up Call Yields Success for K-9 Sam
December 17, 2008
In the midst of dreaming about his next venture as a police canine, K-9 Sam was awoken in the early morning hours on Saturday, December 6th, 2008, to do what he was dreaming about…finding bad guys! K-9 Sam was needed to search for a suspect who burglarized a vehicle, then assaulted the owner of the car when confronted. The weapon used in the assault was a small sledge hammer. K-9 Sam was able to track the scent of the suspect, who fled the scene while officers were responding. Sam led officers to the rear of a property two blocks from where the suspect was last seen by the victim. Sam alerted to some bushes. Officers searched the bushes and found the suspect’s clothing, which was wrapped around a small sledge hammer and a Slim Jim. Unfortunately, the suspect fled the area. However, thanks to K-9 Sam, the suspect will be identified by the fingerprints that were recovered from the items left behind. Good boy, Sam. Now go back to sleep!
Yudy Goes on Vacation
September 4, 2008
Who doesn't enjoy a good summer vacation? Even our 4 legged K-9 partners enjoy a nice road trip every now and then. K-9 Yudy and her best friend Boomer, a chocolate lab, recently went on vacation with the Feeley family to beautiful Lake Tahoe. Yudy enjoyed going for swims in the lake, hiking the great mountains of Tahoe, and running along the sandy beaches chasing tennis balls. Yudy certainly took advantage of her time off! A vacation enjoyed by all!!
Robbery suspects definitely ran, but couldn’t hide!
September 4, 2008
Minutes after the robbery, patrol officers spotted the car and attempted to pull it over. The vehicle sped away, leading police on a high speed chase through Glendale. When the vehicle finally stopped at a cul-de-sac, all four occupants fled from the vehicle. One suspect was captured by officers after a short foot pursuit, however the other three were given the opportunity to run and hide. Several officers, including some from Burbank, sealed off the area to contain the three outstanding suspects.
K-9 Yudy and K-9 Sam arrived at the scene, ready to play a game of “Hide and Seek.” K-9 Yudy started in one direction from the car, while K-9 Sam went the other way. K-9 Yudy made quick work of finding the first suspect, who was hiding behind large trash cans several houses away…One down, two to go!
Meanwhile, K-9 Sam was hot on the trail of the two suspects who fled from the passenger side of the car. He led the search team of officers down a steep, ivy covered slope, finding one of the suspect’s hat along the way. K-9 Sam asked K-9 Yudy for some help and K-9 Yudy was ready to keep playing! K-9 Yudy checked a backyard several houses beyond where Sam was heading, hoping to cut-off the suspects. After going through several backyards, K-9 Yudy quickly closed in on the suspects, who tried to hide in a shed. One sniff of the door crack and K-9 Yudy barked excitedly, “Game over, bad guys!” The suspects wisely took their last opportunity to surrender peacefully and complied with officers to come out of the shed. Final score...Yudy-3, Bad Guys-0. K-9 Yudy is looking for some challengers in another game of “hide and seek.” Any takers?
K-9 Sam was used the following day to sweep several backyards covered with ivy for any evidence discarded by the running suspects. K-9 Sam recovered a pair of gloves and a cell phone that were covered in knee-deep ivy. What a team effort by Sam and Yudy!
Soft-Hearted Vet repairs Damage from Hardened Criminals
August 18, 2008
The Glendale Police Department would like to thank Veterinarian Christopher Frier of Camino Animal Clinic for the excellent care he provided to K9 Sam and his generosity.
Recently, Sam injured his teeth and needed surgery to repair the damage.
The total bill for the X-rays, examination, surgical procedure and related treatment totaled $1435.62. This entire amount was donated to the K9 unit by the Camino Animal Clinic. You can read the entire story on Sam’s webpage.
The Camino Animal Clinic is located at
700 N. Moorpark Rd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
(805) 497-0969
Website
Bed Provides No Cover For PAL
August 15, 2008
A parolee arrested in a La Crescenta neighborhood is behind bars tonight thanks, in part, to the keen nose of K-9 Sam. The PAL (parolee at large) failed to report to his parole officer for several months, which is a violation of his parole conditions. He had eluded police on several prior occasions, but was finally pinned down in a house in the early evening hours of Sunday, July 27th, 2008. Police gave several commands for the suspect to exit the residence. The owner of the residence claimed nobody was inside. Shortly after officers entered house, K-9 Sam led officers to a rear bedroom, which was heavily cluttered with clothing, boxes, and furniture. Even though the messy room provided several hiding spots, K-9 Sam alerted to underneath the bed. Several large suitcases were wedged under the bed, creating a barricade between officers and the suspect hiding underneath. Now confident of the suspect's whereabouts based on K-9 Sam's alert, officers gave one last warning for the parolee to give up. The suspect eventually complied with officers and was taken into custody without any injury to him or the officers.
Cruisin' With the K-9s
July 11, 2008
Come visit the Glendale Police Department’s K-9 Unit display at the 2008 Cruise Night, Saturday, July 19th, from 5:30pm-10:30pm. The display will be in the 100 block of West Lexington and will include photos, equipment, and of course, the K-9s themselves. Handlers will also be present to answer any questions you have about the dogs. They may also have some stories of exciting suspect searches or funny occurrences. While you’re there, check out the official Glendale Police K-9 Unit merchandise at the adjacent Glendale Police Foundation booth. On sale will be t-shirts, hats, and beanies. All proceeds from the sale of the merchandise directly benefits the K-9 unit, which is a donation-based program supported by the citizens and business owners in Glendale and the surrounding area.
"The Nose Knows!"
July 1, 2008
Once again, K-9 Yudy stopped another bad guy from roaming the streets of Glendale! On June 16, 2008, K-9 Yudy, and her partner, Officer Maribel Feeley were called to assist an officer in searching a vehicle for narcotics. The officer advised Officer Feeley he had already searched the entire vehicle, and only found a small amount of narcotics inside. He believed there may be more narcotics in the vehicle, since the male stopped driving the car was on parole for drug sales. Yudy went to work sniffing inside the vehicle, and almost immediately alerted to the front passenger side of the vehicle's dash board. The area where Yudy alerted was examined, and a hidden compartment was found! Inside the compartment were a loaded handgun and a large amount of narcotics. The compartment would not have been discovered had it not been for the sharp nose of a fine K-9 named YUDY!
21st Annual Redondo Beach Police K-9 Competition
May 27, 2008
On May 9th and 10th, 2008, K-9 Sam and K-9 Yudy (along with their human partners Ofc. Sholtis and Ofc. Feeley), competed in the 21st Annual Redondo Beach Police K-9 Competition. There were 29 police and sheriff K-9 teams from Southern California that competed in events such as narcotics detection, an area search for suspects, obedience, agility (obstacles), and suspect apprehension. Both Glendale K-9s competed in the open division and were matched up against other senior teams who have competed in at least three previous competitions. K-9 Sam had the highest score in the obedience event. This event required the dogs to maintain their focus on the handler despite distractions that included two suspects in bite suits kicking a soccer ball back and forth. K-9 Yudy aced the obstacle course and was truly a crowd favorite with the suspect apprehension work. After combining the scores for each of the events, K-9 Sam took 2nd Place overall in the open division and K-9 Yudy took 4th Place. Thanks to all who came out to support Team Glendale. We look forward to seeing you at our next competition on July 12th, 2008, in Camarillo at the Ventura County Sheriffs 3rd Annual K-9 Trial. The event is free and fun for the whole family. All four Glendale K-9s will be competing and this will be a great opportunity to see what our canine partners can do. See you there!
Glendale Community Foundation Grant
May 2, 2008
The Glendale Community Foundation has awarded the Glendale Police Foundation a $4,000 grant for the Glendale Police Department K9 Program. The costs for the canines, their equipment and specialized training are all paid for through community donations. This generous grant from the Glendale Community Foundation will pay for one year of specialized training. Each week the canines and their handlers attend 10 hours of training which consists of searching for dangerous criminals, searching for discarded evidence as well as specialized drug and bomb training.
The Glendale Community Foundation, a publicly supported charitable endowment with nearly $8 million in assets, makes grants from the earning of its invested contributions four times per year to local nonprofit organizations in the greater Glendale area. For more information on the Glendale Community Foundation please visit their site at www.glendalecommunityfoundation.org
The Glendale Police Foundation has been a strong supporter of the K9 Program since its inception in 2005 and we thank them for applying for this grant. For more information on their K9 Club or other fundraising opportunities please visit their site at http://www.glendalepolicefoundation.org/k-9-unit.htm
K-9 Sam Locates Stolen Copper Wire
April 23, 2008
There has been several reports of stolen copper in Glendale in the recent months. On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, officers responded to a report of a male stealing copper wire from the victim’s work truck in the 500 block of Thompson. Shortly after the broadcast, the police helicopter spotted the suspect in the area of Flower and Raymond. The suspect was detained by officers, but did not have any stolen merchandise on him. Ofc. Sholtis utilized his K-9 partner, Sam, to attempt to find the stolen merchandise by conducting a track of the suspect’s path and an article search for items containing the suspect’s scent along the path. K-9 Sam started at the victim’s truck and smelled the ground where the suspect was standing. K-9 Sam tracked the suspect’s path through a nearby pedestrian tunnel that went under the 5 Freeway, then led Ofc. Sholtis to the area of Cosmic and Raymond. K-9 Sam showed heavy interest in thick bushes that lined the power plant near the corner. Sam’s significant change of behavior led Ofc. Sholtis to check the bushes. Two spools of copper wire and a 100-ft extension cord was stashed in the bushes by the suspect, who most likely placed the items there when he saw police in the area. Thanks to K-9 Sam, the discarded merchandise could be linked to the suspect. The victim was very pleased to get his stolen items back, especially since he uses them to make a living as an electrician. Hopefully, investigators can link the suspect to other thefts of copper in the area.
Passing of Penny Hansen
April 23, 2008
On February 4th, 2008, the Glendale Police Department lost an incredible volunteer and the Glendale K-9 Unit lost one of its greatest supporters. Senior Volunteer Penny Hansen (2nd from right, front row) passed away from complications suffered during her battle with cancer. She was an amazing woman who donated her valuable time by helping this Department, especially the K-9 Unit, which is a program that is funded through financial support from public donations. In May 2005, Penny’s love of animals motivated her to organize the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol) unit into collecting recyclables in order to raise funds for the Glendale Police K-9 Unit. Thus far, they have been successful in raising approximately $4000.
Penny Hansen began volunteering for the Glendale Police Department five years ago, assisting in the COPPS office. Penny later decided to extend her service to our Department by becoming an RSVP Officer after completing a 12 week mini academy. Although an RSVP agrees to work one four hour shift per week in the field, Penny also maintained her position in COPPS answering phones, greeting the public and helping out whenever she could.
Penny was a tremendous asset to our volunteer program and was someone who truly cared about the community and the Department. She will be missed tremendously.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on behalf of Penny Hansen to Glendale Police Foundation, “Cans for K-9” Program, P.O. Box 10142, Glendale, CA 91209.
K-9 Sam Locates Suspected Carjacker
April 21, 2008
On January 27th, 2008, a carjacking suspect attempted to steal the victim’s truck by displaying a shotgun. When the victim drove off, the suspect fired a round at the vehicle, shattering the back window. Minutes later, Glendale police officers spotted the suspect vehicle near Brand and Chestnut. One male ran from the vehicle, still holding the shotgun. A perimeter was established to contain the suspect from getting away and potentially being a threat to the public. Ofc. Sholtis and K-9 Sam responded to the location where the suspect was last seen running by officers. K-9 Sam quickly located the suspect hiding in thick brush to the front of an apartment complex. Despite numerous commands to show his hands, the suspect remained motionless. Knowing that the suspect may still be armed, K-9 Sam was deployed to apprehend the suspect, who refused to vacate his hiding spot. K-9 Sam pulled the suspect from the bushes, where officers were able to see his hands. He was safely taken into custody without any injury to officers or the public. The shotgun was recovered by patrol officers who re-traced the suspect’s steps. It was hidden in bushes near the street, still loaded with ammunition. Fortunately for the public, this violent criminal and his co-conspirators were taken off the street. Just a note about the value of K-9s: an officer claimed to have hand searched the bush prior to the K-9 search and did not see the suspect. Obviously, K-9 Sam had the advantage by using his nose to smell out the bad guy.
Sam Locates a Suicidal Male Under an Apartment Complex
April 21, 2008
On March 24th, 2008, Ofc. Sholtis and K-9 Sam responded to a call where a male suffering from mental illness fled from his apartment after county mental health employees arrived to check on his well-being. Fearing that the male may be suicidal and based on his erratic behavior, K-9 Sam was used to attempt to locate him so that proper medical/mental assistance could be administered. With Glendale Fire Department standing by, K-9 Sam sniffed the air vents of the entire crawl space around the apartment complex and alerted officers to the location of the male. An announcement was made for the male to come out of the crawl space and the male complied. The male was provided the proper medical/mental health assistance. He had a necktie in his possession, which he claimed he was going to use to hang himself.
This is the second person who’s life was potentially saved by K-9 Sam. Last year, K-9 Sam tracked a hit-and-run driver approximately 2 blocks from the scene of an accident. The driver of the vehicle, possibly DUI, ran from the scene after crashing his car into a parked truck in the area of Brand and Lomita. K-9 Sam obtained the scent of the driver from the driver’s seat of the vehicle, then led police to the 100 block of East Lomita, where the suspect was found hiding in thick hedges down a long, dark driveway. The male was unable to move due to injuries sustained from the collision. The Glendale Fire Department transported the male to the hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Had K-9 Sam not located the male, necessary medical aid would not have been provided and the male may have died due to the extent of his internal injuries and his inability to move.