CHESTER CHIEF ARGUES FOR DOG UNIT

CHESTER -- A new, four-legged officer could soon become the fifth
member of the Chester Police Department.

The Select Board is considering a request to create a canine unit,
which Police Chief Shane Harris said would help the department do its
job in several ways.

"It's not like crime in Chester is rampant, where the dog would be
saving the day every day," Harris told the Select Board Wednesday,
but the dog would help in everyday law enforcement, and sometimes in
big ways.

"Usually when it happens in Chester, it happens big."

Some members of the Select Board questioned whether the program would
be worth the cost, which would be about $10,000 to start up and $500
to $1,000 annually.

Harris said a canine unit could have helped in the investigation of
at least two armed robberies, in the case of a missing hunter who
died, and in locating a child who ran away last year. A dog would
help while investigating burglar alarms, and its most common use
would likely be in drug enforcement, he said. There is a substantial
drug problem in Rutland, Harris said, and Route 103 is a common
transportation route for people bringing drugs from cities to the
south.

"How does one think that the drugs get to Rutland, or Middlebury, or
Ludlow?" Harris said.

Although the offenders do get stopped, they are not necessarily
caught for drug possession, he said.

If an officer has a suspicion that someone stopped for a traffic
violation might be involved in some other crime, a trained police dog
can be brought to the vehicle and detect with its sensitive nose a
cache of drugs, or even explosives.

Aside from motor vehicle stops, the police department also acts on
search warrants, usually involving drugs or violent crimes, where a
dog could be useful in searching out drugs or articles of clothing.
That saves time, Harris said, possibly even overtime costs, and
provides a better legal case in court.

Plus, he said, a police dog is a great community policing tool.

"A dog is a natural bridge for, especially, kids," he said. "How many
kids don't like a dog," especially one that does "really cool things?"

Select Board member Michael LeClair, a former Vermont State Police
trooper, said he was concerned about the cost of replacing an officer
who is being trained with the dog, and about the rest of the
department's reaction to driving a cruiser that a dog spent time in.
Officers spend time keeping their appearance neat, he said, and a dog
can reverse that work.

"Personally, I didn't like driving a canine guy's car, and I love
dogs," he said.

LeClair also said that handlers sometimes opt out of a canine unit,
leaving a town with a wasted expense.

"Having a dog is a big commitment ... there were people who were
meant to be handlers, and there were people who thought they'd like
to be dog handlers."

Officer Mark Phelps, who would be the two-legged member of the
proposed canine unit, said Wednesday night that he doubts that will
happen to him. His desire to police with a dog is not new.

"When I was in high school I wanted to be in law enforcement, and I
wanted to be an officer with a dog," Phelps said.

While an officer in Springfield, he regularly requested a dog but
never got one. Since working in Chester, he's mentioned a canine each
year in his "goals and objectives."

Harris said he hopes to fund the police dog with the department's
drug forfeiture funds, if the Select Board approves. Alternatively,
he is sure the department could be successful with fundraising.

Springfield Police Canine Officer Rick Cloud, who attended
Wednesday's meeting with his partner, Taz, said his unit was funded
by school fundraisers -- such as a hot dog sale -- and from
contributions by civic groups. Cloud and Taz started working together
when he worked at the Windsor County Sheriff's Department.

Cloud said Taz has saved five people in search and rescue operations
and found $150,000 in drug forfeiture cash.

Select Board Chairwoman Carol Balch asked LeClair to work with Harris
on some bugs regarding Phelps' employment as part of the unit. For
example, if Phelps left the department within a certain time period,
he would have to reimburse the town for part of the cost of the dog,
since police dogs generally bond to one partner. There are, however,
two other officers in the department interested in working with a dog
if Phelps bowed out in time for the dog to bond with someone new.

Harris said other details, such as mutual aid with other police
departments, would need to be ironed out.

If the board approves the expenditure, Phelps is hoping to go to
handler's school with a puppy in the fall.