Police K-9 Officer
He loved dogs as a child and doggedly pursued a career in law enforcement.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
SP was the son of a borough police officer. His mother was a homemaker.
CHILDHOOD THOUGHTS OF AN ADULT CAREER
SP grew up with dogs and talked often as a boy of working in law enforcement.
HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
While in high school, SP was the catcher for the school’s varsity baseball team. Years later, he married the catcher for the girls’ softball team.
COLLEGE
Following high school, SP earned an online Associate degree in criminal justice.
MILITARY SERVICE
SP enlisted as a Marine, serving as a rifleman, promoted to the rank of Corporal, earning formal, military honor while serving in Iraq.
COMMUNITY SERVICE BEGINS WITH CHALLENGING DUTIES
After serving as a Marine in desert combat operations, SP easily qualified to serve and meet all the challenges involved as a firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT) within his home area organizations.
LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER PATH FINALLY LEADS TO POLICE WORK
SP started his police career like any other rookie police officer – assigned to tag along with veteran police officers until he earned the trust of the entire department that he could carry out all his responsibilities without supervision.
SP’s initial duty was as a motorcycle highway patrolman. Soon, he was assigned to the department’s Major Incident Response Team, later to the Narcotics Unit.
SP earned the respect of police management so when he proposed creating a K-9 (police term for ‘canine’ which means ‘dogs’) unit, the police supervisors adopted his suggestion and achieved funding from the borough council to purchase and train several dogs for law enforcement duties.
In addition to utilizing the dogs in typical police work such as sniffing crime scenes for clues, searching for victims and menacing apparent criminals to persuade them to surrender peacefully, SP and his best canine friend represented the K-9 unit at school functions, public ‘meet and greets’ and other community events to foster good relations between the community and its police department.
With his wife’s help, SP organized fundraisers for the K-9 unit, managed its popular Facebook page and created activities to connect the unit with the public. When the covid pandemic shut down schools and day care, SP read stories aloud on Facebook videos to occupy and reassure restless children.
SP declined promotions to remain with the K-9 unit.
CAREER SATISFACTION
As SP stated, “Having the dog around, changes people’s attitudes. Being able to get out there and see the kids and interact with them in a positive manner, sets the tone for them later on in life….. I really enjoy making people happy.”
