PSD Knight - 2008 Can Am Games
Today marks the Opening Ceremonies for the 2009 World Police Fire Games, which will run from July 31st to August 9th.
I went down to the new Vancouver Convention Center a couple of nights ago to register for my event and was greeted by a slew of volunteers, police officers and fire fighters from all over the world. At last count, over 10,000 athletes have signed up to compete in events covering everything from the Grouse Grind Mountain Race and fishing to soccer and hockey.
There’s also the Police Service Dog competition with dog teams representing agencies from across Canada and the United States. The event covers obedience, agility, protection and a box search.
As with most events, the Police Service Dog competition is open to the public free of charge and promises to be an exciting event to watch. It is scheduled for:
- Thursday, August 6th
- Queens Park Stadium at 1st Street and 3rd Avenue, New Westminster (see map)
- start time 0800
- events run through the day
- approx end time 1800 hrs with medal presentations by VPD Deputy Chief Constable Steve Sweeney
PSD Hondo and I are working that day so we will not be competing but I do hope to make it to the venue as an observer to give support to my fellow handlers as they show everyone how impressive the dogs are.
I hope to see you there!
About the photo- the police dog is PSD Knight (Hondo’s brother) competing at the 2008 Can Am Police and Fire Games that took place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Many thanks to the quarry, Dave Ellery, as he has been invaluable in the training of our police dogs, and thanks also to Sgt. Mike Anfield (Ret.) (Maximum Exposure Photography) who was the photographer for the event.
Thank goodness for air conditioning.
A uniform, a bullet proof vest, hiking boots and all the law enforcement gear do not make great hot weather attire, and I’m not sure how officers in Ontario or the southern States handle this type of heat and humidity on a regular basis.
As for our four legged partners, heat exhaustion is one of the leading causes of death among police dogs.
In the past two months several police dogs have died in the States and in the UK after officers left their K9’s in their vehicles in warm temperatures. According to studies, it only takes minutes for temperatures inside a closed vehicle to reach lethal highs. Because our dogs cannot speak to tell us it’s too hot, and because dogs do not sweat (they release heat by panting), it is imperative we look after them.
Our police dogs spend the majority of their work day travelling in a police car so the VPD installed temperature monitors in each of the K9 vehicles. When turned on, the monitor alerts the handler with an alarm when the interior temperature reaches an unacceptable level, and the windows in the vehicle automatically lower to allow air flow. Each vehicle is also outfitted with a system that allows the a/c to remain running with the driving system disabled, permitting the handler to leave their dog in the vehicle for a period of time without having to worry the dog will overheat.
So the next time you see an SUV with cages on the rear windows and a barking dog in the back idling at the curb, you will know why we have left it running – not because we are throwing caution to the wind in an attempt to disregard emission reduction efforts, but because we are trying to keep our furry partners comfortable, able to do their job and more importantly, alive.
Please don’t scream and rant at us for doing so.
The other dog handlers and I had a conversation last night about our successes at what we do as a chosen profession.
In between reliving great calls and talking about last night’s events (it was busy enough to keep four dog teams hopping), we agreed that a lot of our success comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes sheer luck puts us in the honey spot, but most of the time it’s because as a police officer, you have to think like a crook to catch one. You have to get out there and actively hunt criminals, which means learning everything you can about them.
Crime trends, where the local crack shacks are located, knowing where so-and-so’s mom lives, where his girlfriend lives, what types of cars are stolen with the highest frequency, how bad guys flee crime scenes – it all comes down to thinking the way a bad guy does. If you can do this, it gets easier to find the time to be in the right place.
Like last night.
There was a shooting with a bb gun and the suspect fled the scene on foot. After hearing the description I didn’t race into the scene, instead I went to where I had the highest likelihood of spotting the suspect. A few minutes later he appeared in the block, and presto – one in custody. Mind you, a good physical description helps and this suspect might as well have been wearing pink bunny ears – he was described as wearing fishnet gloves, and last time I checked not many fella’s have that item in their wardrobe.
Later in the shift a citizen called in to report a suspicious vehicle skulking around. The citizen turned out to be a great witness, managing to get the plate of the vehicle as it drove away and dispatch advised the vehicle was on file as stolen.
A short time later, after having gotten into the mind of a crook and been able to think of where the stolen vehicle might be, another dog handler located the stolen as it drove through another area, clearly casing houses and cars. The incident ended with the driver being taken into custody by one dog team, and the passenger, who thought it would be a good idea to vacate the scene tout de suite, being taken into custody a short distance away by another dog team.
This case is a great example of knowing how bad guys think and of actively putting that knowledge to work. Would the dog handler have located the stolen if he had simply driven around aimlessly? Maybe, but more likely not – you can miss entire events if you drive around with your blinders on.
The dog handler went out and hunted for the bad guy, which is why he found himself in the honey spot.
About a week ago my spidey senses kicked in and I knew something was off kilter. I looked around, did not see anything out of the ordinary, and continued on with what I was doing.
A few minutes later I got that funny feeling again, like I was being watched. If I stood very still I could just make out a person in my periphery. Turning my head the tiniest bit allowed me to make an inventory of the person’s clothing and what he was carrying. Satisfied that I had identified my stalker, I turned on my heel and walked away.
The man was a shadow. He never came closer than twenty feet and he sometimes disappeared altogether, but he always came back as if I were a guarantee.
Oh how I wanted to grab this man by the lapels and shake him, letting him know I was not a thief. I would have shook my shopping list in his face and pointed at my half-way full grocery cart to build my case.
For some reason, this Lost Prevention Officer had me in his sights.
As he had obviously appeared in mine, I decided to play along. Heck, it was one of those days.
I looped around the store, filling my cart with fruits, veggies, chicken and dairy, mentally placing each item on an ‘Ease of Theft’ scale.
Green onions? They scored a two because even though they are simple enough to slide up a sleeve their onion-y smell might give a person away. A pound of butter? A five. Packaged steak? An eight as I have never figured out how people are able to steal $100.00 of prime rib without getting caught. Watermelon? A ten.
For every aisle I cruised down, the LPO was there. He occasionally deeked right when I went left, only to reappear from my other side. I desperately wanted to sneak up on him and goose him from behind to point out that his surveillance skills needed a little improvement. I don’t think he was intending to be obvious as he so clearly was trying to be non-chalant, and I’m not trying to be cruel about this whole thing as I completely support and understand when stores have to employ LPO’s to keep theft rates under control.
However, if a hunter is stalking another hunter, he had better be on his game.
I eventually made a big show of putting everything on the cashier’s conveyor belt and of paying the bill. I half expected to get stopped when I exited the store but by then the LPO had moved on to another target.
The last I saw of the LPO was as he trailed a heavy set, middle aged man through the produce section. There was a lightness in the LPO’s step, as if he were sure an arrest was imminent. I took another look at the LPO’s target and realized I would have trailed him too - by the looks of the target he had already concealed a watermelon inside his shirt.
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As an end note – I have many friends who were Loss Prevention Officers, so I tell the above story with light hearted intent. I’m sure any fly on the wall of my police cruiser from my days as a rookie would have similar stories to tell… 
There are those among us who would commit heinous acts against others.
On April 8, 2009, eight year old Tori Stafford went missing after she left her school with a then unidentified woman. By the beginning of May, a woman and a man had been arrested and charged with the kidnapping and murder of the little girl even though Tori’s body had not been located.
Then, earlier this week, police in located the remains of a child on a rural property near Mount Forest, Ontario. After comparing the remains to dental charts, investigators confirmed the body located was that of Tori Stafford, bringing some type of closure to her family. I say ‘closure’, but all the identification really does is bring Tori’s family to the next stage of grief.
Now there are whispers of a plea bargain for the woman accused in the case, and even though this is a typical avenue for lawyers to travel down on the route to bringing a case to court, any reduced charge or sentence or will likely spark public outrage. The woman’s lawyer says such talk is premature given the nature of the case, but a plea bargain is not out of the question. Such talk brings back memories of the reduced sentence Karla Homolka received in turn for testifying against her estranged husband Paul Bernardo, who was convicted in 1995 for the kidnapping and murder of high school students Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
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On June 30, the bodies of three sisters and another female relative were found submerged in a car in the Kingston Mill Locks in Kingston, Ontario.
19 year old Zainab Shafia was allegedly behind the wheel of the family’s Nissan Sentra with her sisters, 17 year old Sahar and 13 year old Geeti, and ‘aunt’, 50 year old Rona Mohammad as passengers. How the car ended up in the water was a mystery, as it would have had to have crossed a section of grass and gone through a locked gate – but the grass had no tire tracks and the gate was secure.
Then, on July 22, the parents and 20 year old brother of the three girls were arrested while on their way to the airport. Each has been charged with four counts of first degree murder in connection with the deaths. Following is a time line of the circumstances surrounding the investigation.
Was the incident an honour killing?
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Forest fired have raged across BC in the last two weeks. At one point up to 10,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in the interior, and you only have to follow the daily news to witness the incredible ability of Mother Nature to render our modern day lives to cinders and ash.
At the time of this writing, there are seven fires listed on the Wildfire Manengement Branch’s website as critical due to their visibility or threat to public safety.
But it’s not the actual fires I want to comment on, it’s the despicable acts committed by a few criminals as they took advantage of the vacant homes by breaking into and stealing the belongings of evacuees.
It never ceases to amaze me at how poorly some of our society treats the rest of us. Police agencies for the targeted areas have promised to investigate the crimes to the fullest, and several arrests have already been made.
On a side note, did you know that under the Criminal Code of Canada, a charge of a residential break and enter can be punishable with a maximum sentence of life in prison?
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As you can see from the events of the past week, criminal investigations are only one brick in the road to justice.
The legal system is one of checks and balances. Many would argue the rights of victims are continually violated in favour of not violating those of the accused, and there are times when I feel the same. I’ve seen too often an accused go free based on a technical error and not on a lack of facts pointing to the person’s irrefutable guilt. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Perhaps all the talk of child murders, plea bargains, honour killings and heartless thieves has put me into a bit of a funk, but there HAS to be justice served in these cases. All of these families and victims deserve closure. They did not ask for the crimes committed against them. They did not beg to have their lives ended and their belongings stolen.
If I know policing at all, I know all the investigators in the above cases will do their utmost best to bring the cases to a successful conclusion and that the right people will be brought to justice.
Vancouver beaches are spectacular. Maybe not as amazing as the beaches in tropical climes, but beautiful none the less. This past weekend was no exception, and all the local beaches were jammed to capacity.
Most people go to the beach with their friends, their kids, or their dog. Kites and Frisbees, fish and chips, sunscreen and sand, flip-flops and bikinis – you see it all at the beach. Unfortunately, you also see the occasion drunk, or a fool trying to act like a big shot, or a group of kids causing a disturbance.
This time, someone called in about a young man who appeared to be intoxicated. He was kicking up sand, disturbing other people, and starting to get out of hand so the witness called 911 in the hopes of averting a potential ’situation’ before it happened. A single officer responded to the call, hiking out across the sand to speak to the ’subject of complaint’ (SOC).
The SOC was shirtless, shoeless and fit. He was tanned and healthy, but was intoxicated and/or high on drugs and was being a nuisance so the officer ran his name over the radio to check for any records. Just as the dispatcher came back to let the officer know the SOC was wanted on a BC wide warrant of arrest, the SOC made a break for it. I’m not sure what alerted the SOC to the warrant as the officer was wearing an earpiece to keep radio communications private, but something happened. Perhaps the SOC knew he wanted and knew the gig was up. Who knows, but according to the officer, the SOC was off like a flash.
If you have ever tried running on dry sand, you will appreciate how hard it is. Try running on sand while wearing hiking boots and 30 pounds of gear. In 30 degree heat (86 degrees F for my American friends), after a suspect wearing next to nothing who does not want to get caught.
The officer took after the suspect and broadcast the foot pursuit. I happened to be nearby and responded Code 3, but driving in that area is like playing Frogger – lots of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles.
The officer, who is young and fit himself, did a great job keeping up to the suspect once they were on pavement, but the distance lost on the sand could not be regained. The crowds played a factor as well, and within four blocks, the officer lost sight of the SOC. I came upon the officer halfway up a steep hill as he stood there with his hand up to shield his eyes, his entire posture comminicating the sheer frustration he was feeling at having lost the SOC. I told him to hop in with me.
We drove around looking for the SOC (I couldn’t deploy PSD Hondo on a track because of all the people) as the officer said the guy had likely gone to ground as he had been trying to hide just before the officer lost sight of him. Thus began the waiting game. There were cops everywhere. The SOC had to emerge at some point. I dropped the officer back at this car, then went to a spot I thought would be likely for the SOC to return to.
Let me just interject something here – I am not a terribly patient person when it comes to waiting things out. I like action, and to sit in a static position is a true test of my will power. But I knew if I waited long enough, the SOC would show up. So I waited.
And was rewarded.
About an hour later, a woman called in about a suspicious male only 3/4 block from my location. The suspicious male was hiding in the bushes between two apartment buildings and was moaning and rolling around. The woman only knew it was a man from the voice, but she did not have a clear view of him and could not provide a description. We all suspected it was our SOC.
I got to the area first – there was no way the SOC would be able to outrun my dog if he were to try and escape again.
As we made our way into the bushes I could see and hear the shrubs ahead of us moving, but I could not see the person in the bushes. Was it the SOC? Was it a homeless person? I had to be sure so I called out. When I yelled to whoever was in the shrub that they were under arrest and to show their hands, PSD Hondo barked. It was all the encouragement the SOC needed.
Two hands shots up so fast I thought they would detach at the wrist and go flying off into a nearby hedge. The hands were shortly followed by the rest of the SOC as he crawled out from the bush and lay on the ground with his arms out to the side. Completely and utterly compliant. I would be too if I had an 85 lb police dog barking at me.
Once the SOC was in cuffs, I returned PSD Hondo to my truck. My dog was wagging his tail, prancing beside me, bumping up against my leg to let me know he was happy that we had ‘found’ the guy.
It’s pretty cool. Even if all they get to do is bark at someone while their handler yells out commands, the dogs dig it. They live for this type of work.
My computer has packed it in, hopefully only on a short term basis.
As such, I am writing this post from my Blackberry and am ready to scream from trying to type on this itty, bitty little keyboard. A ‘texter’ I am not.
I’ll be back with a regular post when my computer is back up.
And about texting – did you see the photo in the paper of the woman texting and driving?
When the opportunity to escape city life and a uniform presents itself, I take full advantage of it.
Like I have for the past ten days.
Knowing my family and I would be fleeing to the banks of a pristine river in BC’s interior, I pre-posted the last few entries – you have to forgive me for not letting you know I was leaving beforehand, but in this day and age (and considering this blog is not written anonymously) I like to keep my whereabouts under wraps.
Now that I’m back and operating on full charge, I have to comment on how important it is for officers to ‘take a break’.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I love my job, and there are days when I have to pinch myself to ensure I’m not going to wake up from the wonderful dream of being paid to work with my dog.
That said, there are times when all I want to do is get away from the insanity of too many victims, too many critical incidents, and too many near misses.
Shootings, loud music, racing cars, sirens, grid lock traffic, car accidents, Code 3 driving, stabbings, bloody wounds, dead people, violence, getting called ‘pig’ and ‘blond copper’ and ‘bitch’.
If nothing else, policing has shown me that living a good life is all about balance.
And so, I run to the quiet of BC’s back woods, where all I can hear is the flow of the river, the wind as it gently rocks the lodge-pole pines, and the wonderful quiet as Mother Nature wraps herself around me.
To wake up in the morning to the sound of a pair of eagles coaxing their young fledgling out of the nest, to spend the day hiking and swimming, and to lay under the stars with my kids in the full dark of night wondering at the galaxies above us.
When all is back in tune, when all is balanced, life is grand.
“We choose only once. We choose either to be warriors or to be ordinary. A second choice does not exist. Not on this earth.”
– Carlos Castaneda
This really struck a chord, as I believe a person is born with the inherent traits to be a warrior/protector/server of mankind.
And while not everyone sees those qualities within themselves, those who do recognize the drive for what it is.
Policing is a calling. It is up to each individual to decide if it’s a way of life they are willing to embrace. Because embrace it you must.
Last weekend was beautiful and we spent the good part of it in Port Moody, a suburb just North/East of Vancouver. After visiting friends and doing some shopping we had started on our way home when I got the hankering for an iced latte. We wheeled into a coffee shop on our route and hubby stayed in the car with the kids while I ran inside.
My iced-latte was soon joined by a treat for the kids. It ended up being a balancing act between the drink, the weird cake-thing the barrista said the kids would love and my wallet. I almost dropped the entire production on my way out the door, but I caught it all and kept everything upright – barely.
Then I looked up and started back to the car, which was parked about a 1/3 of a block away. Coming towards me and cutting across the street were two hooligans. Both of them looked like they had been drinking and one of them was obviously high on drugs, probably meth. They both had me in their sights. They swaggered, had started to puff themselves up, and were eyeing the fact I was balancing my wallet and wearing flip-flops. By all appearances it looked like a mugging about to happen. Great.
Just try me.
They kept walking and so did I. They made no secret of the fact they were eyeing my wallet, and they kept trying to stare me down in an attempt to gauge what my response would be. I eyed them right back, silently telling them they were picking the wrong ‘victim’ and that they should buzz off. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, attitude is everything.
The two hooligans veered away as we got closer together and they dropped their eyes first.
‘Housewife’ – 1, Hooligans - 0
When I got back to the car and handed the kids their treat, hubby was looking in his sideview mirror at the retreating figures of the two would-be-muggers. He had watched the entire episode and said he thought the two guys were going to jump me. He also said they had eyed up the car as well, as if it were theirs for the taking, but had moved their attention to me when I stepped out of the coffee shop.
Either way, the two hooligans would have been in for a big surprise if they had carried through with what had obviously been their initial intention. The kids were part of this conversation and they turned around to get a look at the guys. Then my son cracked us up when he added his two bits.
“Mom, you would have been okay. Dad would have been all over them, I would have jumped on their backs and she (pointing at his sister) would have kicked them in the nards.”
Kids. Gotta luv em.
