LPD adding K-9, replacing squad cars

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August 17, 2009

Chief wants dogs available each day; he’s also implementing 12-hour shifts

by Kevin Lilly Pharos-Tribune Mon Aug 17, 2009, 10:15 AM EDT

With a unanimous approval by the city council earlier this month, the Logansport Police Department will purchase four new vehicles and add at least one more K-9 unit.

At its August meeting, the council voted to appropriate $90,000 to make the acquisitions possible. Chief A.J. Rozzi explained Tuesday that the need for funding arose from increasing vehicle maintenance costs and the unexpected loss of K-9 Robbie last October in a vehicle accident.

On a daily basis, officers respond to emergency calls at high speeds. Often squad cars are driven eight to 16 hours per day while patrolling city streets. When they begin closing in on 100,000 miles, which typically takes three to four years, repairs become more frequent and more costly, Rozzi said.

“When things start breaking continuously, we start getting them out of the fleet,” he said.

Those cars are either assigned to other city departments or traded in toward new vehicles.

After the purchase of the four new vehicles and replacing two that were totaled in a traffic accident and by electrical damage from a storm, LPD’s fleet will stand at 30.

As for new K-9s, Rozzi would like to get two new dogs trained in tracking and drug detection. However, at a cost of $12,500 for the dog and the required equipment and training for both officer and K-9, the amount of appropriated money remaining after vehicle purchases will not cover the total expense of even one highly-trained K-9.

But Rozzi considers the K-9s a tremendous asset for the department. After training at Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Ind., the dog can track missing persons and/or suspects on the run, as well as provide protection for officers and give probable cause to search a vehicle during a traffic stop where drug activity is suspected.

“It really saves us time and it’s a great tool for our department,” Rozzi said.

Right now, LPD relies mostly on its sole K-9 and one owned by the Cass County Sheriff’s Department to assist when needed. By going to 12-hour shifts to increase available manpower by one officer, the police chief wants a K-9 unit on duty each day between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

“It’s real important we get one or two more out there on the road for the community,” said Rozzi, who recognizes the city’s budget constraints.

In response, the Logansport Fraternal Order of Police Lodge will have a golf tournament open to the public on Sept. 9 at Dykeman Municipal Golf Course. All proceeds go to the effort to buy additional K-9s.

“We’re actively out there trying to raise funds to relieve a little bit of the city’s responsibility with the situation the city is in with the tight funds,” Rozzi said.

For now, Patrolman Travis Yike is scheduled to pick out a dog on Aug. 24 and begin several weeks of training on Aug. 31.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com

Golfing for K-9s

The Fraternal Order of Police Logansport Lodge 71 will conduct a golf scramble on Sept. 9 at Dykeman Municipal Golf Course as part of an effort to raise money for two additional police K-9s. For more information on playing or becoming a hole sponsor, contact either Logansport Police Chief A.J. Rozzi or Assistant Chief Mike Morphet at (574) 753-4101, Ext. 1.

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