K9 Program
K9 Aiko is currently on the road with Officer Ennemoser. Aiko is a 4 year old
male German Shepherd, imported from Germany. Aiko and Officer Ennemoser
started their 6 week training course when Aiko was 2 years old in May of
2009. They both graduated and certified in June of 2009. Aiko is certified
through the State of Ohio, North American Police Work Dog Association
(NAPWADA) and National Association of Professional K9 Handlers.
Aiko is trained in the following areas: Narcotics Detection, Building Search, Tracking, Area Search, Article/Evidence Search and Handler Protection.
Some of the accomplishments that Aiko has achieved since graduating and certifying are: tracking and apprehending a suspect involved in a stolen vehicle, tracking and apprehending a burglary suspect who assaulted the home owner, and apprehending a burglary suspect, while the residents were upstairs locked in their bedroom. On another occasion, while working with the Portage County Drug Task Force, Ptl. Ennemoser conducted a traffic stop. A search of the vehicle resulted in finding 2.5 pounds of marijuana and 4 ounces of psilocybin mushrooms inside the vehicle. This traffic stop was a joint operation with the Cleveland Drug Task Force and resulted in the confiscation of $150,000 in cash and 10 pounds of marijuana.
In 2007, a generous donation from the Kent VFW helped offset the expenses of
a new dog. Ptl. Gilliland was given another opportunity to handle a dog. Ptl.
Gilliland went to Wapakoneta, Ohio to meet with Al Gill, who purchases dogs
from Europe and helps train them for police work. Felo was chosen because of
his demeanor; he is a very dominate/confident alpha male German Shepherd.
Ptl. Gilliland and Felo completed six weeks of training and were certified through NAPWDA and OPOTA, in 2007. Felo is trained in the following areas: Narcotics Detection, Building Search, Tracking, Area Search, Article/Evidence Search, Criminal Apprehension and Handler Protection. They are currently on the road together. Felo has been a great addition to the program. Felo has made numerous criminal apprehensions and drug finds since being certified. Felo enjoys doing demonstrations for the Kent Schools and Community organizations.
History of the K9 Program
The Kent Police K9 Unit was started in 1987 by Ptl. Don Miller. Ptl. Miller started the program from scratch, without funding from the Police Department. He used his own dog, Duchess, a female German Shepherd. Ptl. Miller trained his dog and she was certified through the North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA), and through the State of Ohio, in patrol, which allowed Ptl. Miller to work her on the street. Duchess was trained in the following areas: Obedience, Tracking, Area Search, Building Search, Article/Evidence Search and Criminal Apprehension. Duchess worked from 1987 until November 1991.
After Ptl. Miller and Duchess were certified, Ptl. Karen Travis began
working on certifying her dog Gonzo, a male German Shepherd. After 6-7
weeks of training, Gonzo was certified through NAPWDA and the State of
Ohio, and went out on patrol with Ptl. Travis. Ptl. Travis was the first
female handler in the state of Ohio. Gonzo was trained in the following
areas: Obedience, Tracking, Area Search, Building Search,
Article/Evidence Search and Criminal Apprehension. Gonzo worked from
1990 until 1995.
Both K9's were well received in the community. The Officers did numerous K9 demonstrations with the dogs. Every year they did a demonstration at the Portage County Fair. During this time, there was a rash of burglaries in surrounding towns (Stow, Tallmadge, and Brimfield). One night, Tallmadge Police Department pursued a burglary suspect vehicle into Kent. The vehicle was stopped by Kent PD, and eventually the occupants were arrested on unrelated charges. While questioning the suspects, they admitted to not wanting to burglarize any houses, or commit any crimes in Kent because "You guys have dogs!"
Ptl. Miller and Ptl. Travis did demonstrations for other Police Departments as well. These demonstrations led to other departments (Ravenna and Mogadore) starting their own K9 program. Due to the success of Ptl. Miller and Duchess and Ptl. Travis and Gonzo, the Kent Police Department decided to fund the K9 Program.
In late 1991, early 1992, the Department conducted a K9 assessment for
interested officers and selected Ptl. Rick Haury to be a canine handler.
Ptl. Haury was paired up with Roy (pronounced Ro-ee), a Dutch Malinois.
Ptl. Haury and Roy trained in Pennsylvania under the watchful eye of
Jack Harrigan, a NAPWDA Master Trainer. Ptl. Haury and Roy were trained
and certified in patrol through NAPWDA and the State of Ohio. Ptl. Haury
and Roy made a great team. They made multiple criminal apprehensions
during their career together. The apprehensions came from building
searches, tracks and fleeing suspects. Roy was a very driven dog and
struck fear into the criminals he encountered. Ptl. Haury and Roy also
conducted multiple demonstrations for the Kent community. Roy worked
from 1992 until November 1997.
The next handler selected was Ptl. Martin Gilliland. Ptl. Gilliland
paired up with Arid, a male German Shepherd imported from
Czechoslovakia. Ptl. Gilliland and Arid were trained in Pennsylvania,
again with Jack Harrigan. The training lasted seven weeks and the team
was eventually certified through NAPWDA and the State of Ohio. Initially
Arid was just a patrol dog like the previous K9s. However, Arid excelled
in using his nose to locate people. It was decided later to have Arid
tested to see if he had the proper drive for narcotics detection. Arid
was taken to a trainer in Amherst, Ohio where he was found to have the
needed drive for narcotics work. After an additional four weeks of
training, in mid 1995, Arid was certified through NAPWDA and the State
of Ohio for narcotics detection. Ptl. Gilliland and Arid became the
first K9 unit to be dual-purpose, patrol and narcotics. Arid was a
tremendous tracking dog, he helped locate multiple suspects and missing
people. In March 1996, Arid played an integral part in locating two
missing children in Franklin Twp. Arid also had multiple narcotics
finds/seizures. On one occasion, Kent PD was called for mutual aid by
OSP. A State Trooper made a stop on a vehicle on the Ohio Turnpike and
needed a narcotics trained K9 for a vehicle sniff. Arid alerted to the
vehicle trunk and a subsequent search of the vehicle revealed a hidden
compartment containing $186,000 in cash. Arid worked from 1995 until
2001.
When Ptl. Haury retired Roy in 1997, Ptl. Brand was selected to handle
Kent PD's next K9, Gandur, a male German Shepherd from Germany. Ptl.
Brand and Gandur were dual purpose trained, in patrol and narcotics.
Gandur excelled at scent work, he could detect small amounts of drugs
when searching. He was very good at crowd control; protecting officers
during fights and disorderly situations, and he was effective at moving
crowds away from officers.Ptl. Brand and Gandur did many building
searches. Gandur liked children and he and Ptl. Brand did K9 demos at
local schools and at the Portage County Fair. Ptl. Brand and Gandur
worked for about two years when the K9 had to be retired due to cancer
being found in one of his rear legs. Gandur worked from 1997 until March
1999.
After Ptl. Gilliland retired Arid he took on another K9 named Damon, a
male German Shepherd from the Czech Republic. Damon was a dual purpose
K9 trained in patrol and narcotics. Damon excelled in scent work. He was
a tremendous tracker, locating multiple fleeing suspects and missing
people. Damon was a very social dog and was in great demand for public
demonstrations in area schools. Damon was very protective of Ptl.
Gilliland. On one occasion he came to Ptl. Gilliland's aid when a wanted
felon began violently resisting arrest. Damon made the physical
apprehension of the felon which afforded Ptl. Gilliland the opportunity
to take the suspect into custody. Damon worked hard up until he
succumbed to cancer in February 2004. Damon touched so many people in a
positive way, so much so that the wonderful people at the Memorial
Animal Hospital coordinated with many people, specifically the Kent
Rotary, to raise enough funds to get another dog. Damon worked from 1999
until February 2004.
Ptl. Gilliland wanted to continue with the program and was given the
opportunity to work another dog. Bak was a male German Shepherd from the
Czech Republic. Ptl Gilliland and Bak were trained in the
Mentor/Painesville area by Master Trainer Jim Watson. Bak was trained in
Narcotics Detection and Patrol. After about seven weeks of training, Bak
and Ptl. Gilliland were certified through NAPWDA and OPOTA.
Unfortunately, Bak only worked for a little more than a year. Bak came
down with a rare infection that was caught in its advanced stages
killing him at the very young age of 2 1/2 years old. Bak worked from
2004 until 2006.
Ptl. Jacobs and his K9 Codi began training in February of 1999. Their
first day on the street was Memorial Day 1999. Codi was an all black
male German Shepherd imported from Czechoslovakia. He was a utility dog
trained in Tracking, Narcotics, Building/Area Searches, Article Search
as well as Apprehensions. While narcotics were Codi's strength, he had
success in all areas throughout his career. His biggest drug seizure was
77 Kilos of marijuana on a mutual aid call in Brimfield Township, as a
result of a traffic stop. He tracked several Robbery/Burglary suspects
and found suspects hiding in buildings and houses resulting in
apprehensions. Codi also found key pieces of evidence used to
successfully prosecute suspects. Codi was very useful for crowd control
during the May 4th riots in 1999 and 2000. He was also effective for
crowd control problems outside downtown bars after closing. Codi worked
from 1999 until 2008. He passed away in 2010 from heart complications.
Officer Ennemoser was chosen to participate in the K9 program in 2001.
His first dog, Jessy, was a female German Shepherd imported from
Holland. Jessy and Officer Ennemoser trained for 16 weeks before working
the road together in November of 2001. Jessy was certified in Narcotics
Detection, Tracking, Building Search, Area Search, Article / Evidence
Search and Handler Protection.
During the eight years on the road, Jessy was responsible for numerous drug finds, money seizures, tracking suspects, locating suspects inside buildings and locating articles used in crimes. One drug find was in May of 2008, when the team was called out to the Kent State University airport. Jessy alerted to the presence of narcotics in an airplane that had landed, and 30 Kilo's of Cocaine were located inside the plane.
During one track Jessy, located three suspects who attempted to steal a car at gunpoint. Jessy tracked the suspects for several blocks, locating the suspects inside a house. Jessy was also called out to a scene where a subject had been robbed and stabbed. In the front yard, Jessy located the knife that was used in the stabbing. Later while tracking the suspect, Jessy located the suspect's shirt he had removed as he fled the area. DNA from the suspect's shirt later helped obtain the suspect's conviction. Jessy worked from November 2001 until February 2009, when she retired for medical reasons.
