K-9 DOGS OFF STREET AFTER CERTIFICATIONS FALSIFIED

CHATTANOOGA - Police officials removed two drug-sniffing dogs from street
duty and reassigned their two handlers to nonpatrol jobs while
investigating how the animals' K-9 certifications were falsified.

The internal affairs investigation of the department's false documents on
the two Belgian Malinois dogs, Casper and Viper, stemmed from an inquiry by
the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern said she was unsure how
the lack of certification by the United States Police Canine Association
might affect past or pending cases.

"I am shocked, if it's true, that a police officer would falsify anything
regarding a criminal case," Stern said in Tuesday editions of the
newspaper. "If a dog's training and certification are the basis for
probable cause for a search, I think there could be problems with the search."

Police spokesman Ed Buice declined to comment Tuesday about the
investigation or whether any cases might be affected.

The newspaper last week asked the city's police K-9 coordinator, Sgt.
Dennis Pedigo, to produce certificates for all six department dogs used to
detect drugs, explosive devices and patrol streets.

Department policy requires the dogs and their handlers to be certified by
the USPCA before being put into service, officials said.

Police produced certificates for five of the six dogs, including Casper and
Viper. At least two of the certificates appeared to have been doctored,
Cooke said. Police discovered Monday that the certifying association did
not have a record of Casper and Viper receiving narcotics detection
certification, Cooke told the newspaper.

"Sgt. Pedigo was trusting of his people," Cooke said. "Phone calls to the
USPCA to double check the records showed the dogs were not certified."

Pedigo, the department's canine coordinator for about three years, said
Sam, a Labrador retriever used to sniff out bombs and explosive materials,
also lacks certification.

Sam was donated to the department by a Signal Mountain firefighter, Pedigo
said.

Blade, Casper and Viper, were purchased last year for $7,000 each in South
Carolina, police said.

Two years ago in Knoxville, a federal judge dropped drug charges against a
Virginia couple because of the unreliability of a police dog that sniffed
out 560 pounds of marijuana in their motor home. Testimony showed the dog,
Falco, alerted officers to drugs 225 times between 1998 and 2000, but
officers only found drugs 80 times.