MENASHA POLICE K-9 NETS QUICK DRUG ARRESTS

Donations Start To Pay Off In Unit's First Days

MENASHA - Paul Scheppf had an interesting job in the U.S. Air Force:
refueling fighter jets or bombers flying 400 mph at 35,000 feet in the
air.

But he thinks his latest job is pretty cool, too, and not just because
he lives and works in sometimes-frigid Wisconsin.

The Menasha police officer now has a new partner joining him on his
night shift patrol, thanks to the generosity of the community. Scheppf
is the department's first K-9 handler in more than a decade and is now
accompanied by a specially trained 2-year-old German shepherd named
Gommez.

In the unit's first three nights on the job in mid-December, Gommez
was responsible for four drug arrests.

It's the kind of impact that officials and residents had hoped to
see.

His first assist came on his second night when he alerted the officer
about a vehicle and a subsequent search found a marijuana pipe inside.

On his third night on duty, a Monday night, Gommez had a large role in
three arrests.

The first occurred when another officer made a traffic stop and
Scheppf drove to the scene for backup and a walk-around.

"He alerted on the ash tray and (officers) found some partially smoked
marijuana joints in the ash tray. And he alerted on the back seat and
found a partially smoked joint under the seat. The driver was arrested
for possession of marijuana," Scheppf said.

Later that night, Appleton police asked for assistance in looking for
a suspect at a Third Street apartment complex. The suspect was not
located but the tenant granted permission for a search of his
apartment and Gommez "found a relatively significant amount of
marijuana in a dresser drawer in a bedroom and he found another bag of
marijuana in the closet."

The 40-year-old man was arrested for felony possession of
marijuana.

The third incident occurred when a lieutenant observed an 18-year-old
Menasha man he knew was wanted on warrants and attempted a traffic
stop. The man quickly pulled into a driveway and took off on foot.

"We didn't really do a track because of the (frigid) temperature and
weather conditions," Scheppf said. "We knew who the driver was so it
wasn't an issue of trying to identify (him)."

Gommez, however, did a search and "found in the vehicle partially
smoked marijuana joints." The suspect, who is still at large on felony
drug and weapons charges, will be referred on additional drug and
bail-jumping charges.

Scheppf praised the narcotics detection training that took place since
October at FoxTal training center in Black Creek. "He's trained
marijuana, meth(amphetamine), cocaine, crack, Ecstasy and heroin,"
Scheppf said.

"In my opinion, you're going to see an instant change," Scheppf said.
"In time it will certainly decrease the amount of drugs in Menasha."

Gommez also participated in tracking training, which will be completed
with a two-week session in spring. Scheppf sees big benefits as well
in tracking suspects who flee from burglaries or thefts in progress
and elude officers by hiding.

Schools will benefit from Gommez, who will start making school visits
next semester. Scheppf said schools are drug-free zones and, "I think
the kids seeing the dog in school will keep it free from drugs."

Undoubtedly, Scheppf said the word will spread in the community about
the successful drug searches.

"There's no doubt in my mind that they're telling their buddies that
the dog walked around my vehicle and found dope," he said. "It's
certainly going to be a deterrent."

A collaboration of residents and businesses raised $47,592 to fund the
purchase, equipping and training of the unit.

"Just to know that the community stepped up and donated all that money
to make a difference it's really gratifying," said Scheppf, who drives
a new Ford Expedition, specially designed to accommodate his sidekick.
Part of the backseat was removed and replaced with a kennel.

Lt. Tim Styka, Scheppf's supervisor, has been impressed.

"Early on, I suspect we'll have a lot of drug arrests," said Styka.
"We knew we had a drug issue and had some problems but when the dog
works three nights and has four arrests, you knew the stuff was out
there. It's kind of a sobering. We'll see where we're at after a month
but short term it's been an eye opener."

Additional Facts Menasha police K-9 unit

Name: Gommez (pronounced Goo-mez), 2-year-old German shepherd purchased
from a European breeder Handler: Police officer Paul Scheppf, who joined
the Menasha Police Department in September 2003 Skills/training: Gommez
is a non-bite dog, trained primarily for drug detection and tracking of
lost individuals, not suspect apprehension. Trained at FoxTal training
center, Black Creek, by former Appleton police officer Deb Krsnich. For
more information, go to www.foxtal.com. Donations from the community raised
nearly $48,000 to fund the K-9 unit in response to public and police
concerns about increasing drug activity and violent crimes.