CHETEK PD PROPOSES K-9 UNIT

Chetek police officer Ray Parr brought before the city council a
proposal for the implementation of a K-9 unit at the council's
monthly meeting Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Parr began explaining his proposal by recalling an incident at Chetek
Middle School where a seventh-grade student was caught with
possession of marijuana and two others were found with marijuana seeds.

"After that incident, a woman I know was talking to her sixth grade
daughter," continued Parr. "She asked her daughter how easy it would
be to get drugs if she wanted them. The girl responded that if she
wanted to, by the end of the school day she could go home with
whatever she wanted."

According to Parr, the school admits there is a problem. Parr
continued by expressing that if the city had its own K-9 unit, word
would travel in school and students would be aware that a dog could
come through at any time.

"I think if we could get the drugs out of the school, the program
would pay for itself," said Parr. " My whole thought process is if
the council would approve it, I would raise the money to get the
program started. The entire cost to get everything up and running
would be paid for through fund raising and donations."

While the Barron County Sheriff's Department does have a trained dog,
Parr explained that the city is lucky to use the dog once or twice a
year. Parr also said that many students already know the dog is
coming before the officer arrives, which allows the students to
prepare for a search. The sheriff's department notifies the school
staff, and somewhere along the line, the word gets out and all the
kids know the officer is coming, said Parr. "If someone was readily
available, we wouldn't have that issue," Parr continued.

"This is quite bothersome knowing that this information is getting
into the student body," said Waite. "I haven't seen it myself, but
I've had a source that has told me they see drug deals going down
right in the hallway. That's just unreal."

Waite also continued by expressing that the school board should be
providing support in the future if it is more of a school issue,
stating he felt it was more of a school district problem.

Parr replied that it would be beneficial throughout the entire
community, citing the efforts of the neighborhood watch program and
other incidents he has personally dealt with.

"Last summer there were a number of break-ins in vehicles and I came
out in the nighttime and went walking around to catch people causing
problems," Parr explained. "Obviously, taking a dog out, the dog
would catch up on a scent a whole lot quicker than we could pick up
on something. In turn, I think people would be less likely to cause
problems knowing there could be a dog out."

"I think it would be a good idea," said Officer Jessica Mazel who was
also present at the meeting. "Say someone runs on us, if we can't
find them, a dog can pick up their scent more than we could even
imagine. Then we wouldn't have a day or two to receive the county's
dog. If the county's handler goes on vacation, we have to pay them
extra to call the officer out and track a scent."

According to Parr, who would be considered the sole handler, he would
go through the training himself, and the dog would reside at his
home. The St. Paul, Minn., Police Department is the closest agency
that could train Parr for a K-9 unit, but Parr explained that they
would also provide the dog as part of the training. The Barron County
Sheriff's Department goes through the exact same program.

Parr explained that training would occur in two parts. The first
portion would be a 12-week course, concentrating in dog obedience,
building searches, tracking, handling and protection. Following the
first course, the handler would return the dog home to work with him
and see how he would react to things-basically creating a bond,
explained Parr. The dog would then return for a two-week course in
narcotics training.

While Parr realizes the program and training would not be cheap,
easily $20,000, he feels strongly about having a dog and feels he
could raise the funds. Parr simply needed the city council's approval
to begin the program. The city council was in favor of the idea, but
still had a couple of concerns, namely money, training time, and
liability. Mayor Whitworth began the debate on the issue by asking
about the insurance issues with the city.

"What about the insurance [needs]?" asked Whitworth. "Say if the dog
bit a crook; he's going to sue, and most likely, the judge would give
him an award [for damages]."

Parr explained he did not feel that would be the case, based on his
knowledge of previous incidents in the county.

"I know the sheriff's department has had three or four cases where
the dog has actually had to be released to get the person under
control," said Parr. "The person was found guilty, and was not given
any favoritism because they were attacked."

"I'd like to see you get this on the ground, but I'd also expect to
see some pretty hefty results from it," said Waite. "If you get this
on the ground, and were able to raise the money, and then six months
through the program you come to us saying 'I need $50,000,' that's
not going to go over very well."

"That would not be the case" replied Parr. "I would have all the
money raised before I even began training."

Alderman Bronstad asked Parr if the K-9 training would take him away
from his normal duties with the city. Parr explained that for the
most part it would, but he would be around during weekends, and with
the others on the force helping with Parr's duties, he didn't foresee
it being a problem. When Parr returned from the training with the
dog, he would be doing everything he normally does, with the dog
readily available. Even during the night time, with Parr living in
the city, he would be available to bring the dog to a crime scene if
needed. One squad car would need to be equipped with an automatic
door opener and a special cage to keep the dog separate from the
prisoner. The whole set-up for the squad car would also come from the
money he raised.

Bronstad mentioned that the city had tried implementing a K-9 unit
previously, but the city would have had to cover the expenses, which
wasn't approved. However, with Parr raising the money and going
through the motions himself, Bronstad expressed his approval.

Other members of the police squad and community apparently feel the
same way, as Parr presented letters from school officials, Chief Mark
Petersen and others in show of support.

"One must understand and remember that K-9 sniffs will not be a total
answer or solution for potential drug issues within a school
district, but that a K-9 along with a strong anti-drug message may
detour a student from making a poor decision in regards to drug
possession and usage," stated middle school principal Bryan Yenter in
his letter. "After all, every student has a 'right' to attend and
learn in a safe, drug-free school."

Superintendent Al Brown expressed his sentiments towards a K-9 unit as well.

"We really need to look at this as a community issue," said Brown. "I
think [having a K-9 unit] is a worthy cause; it's one more tool that
our police force can utilize in carrying out their duties. The police
are looking at using the dog as more than just a drug dog. The school
is part of the community. Our students represent the community as a
whole. I would say the same percentage of students who use would be
very similar to the percentage of usage in the community. Part of
addressing the issue as a community is to address it in the school.
We have to be pro-active, too. I don't think there is a community
that can't say they don't have a drug issue."

Brown stated that he wasn't sure if the district would use the dogs
any more than they have in the past. It would depend on the training
the dog had and what drugs the dog was trained to sniff out, Brown
said. He explained that the district usually brings in a dog about
twice a year to check lockers and sniff out the school. The exercise
is often used as part of training procedures for the county. To his
knowledge, the dogs have never found drugs in the school or in the
parking lots, Brown said.

"It's an admirable venture," continued Brown. "We will take advantage
of any service the police department offers. I can't say at this
point that we'd go into a situation where we'd do a search every
other week. We've had some usage issues, but I wouldn't say it's more
than any other place."

When asked if the school district would be willing to take part in
supporting the cause financially, Brown explained that the students
and staff will happily get involved in fundraising for Parr's venture.

Whitworth gave his approval to Parr to do whatever he needs to do to
get the program started. Parr said he will be putting donation
containers around town at local businesses. Those interested in
donating may also stop in at the police department personally. Any
questions can be directed to Parr at the police department as well.