Erie police explore possibility of bringing K-9 officers back to the city police force
The Erie Bureau of Police once employed a staff of four-legged officers who worked with their two-legged partners on a variety of patrol and investigative duties.
The last of those officers retired in 2014, and the city police bureau hasn't had a K-9 on its roster since then.
But that could change.
Police Chief Dan Spizarny said the bureau is doing some preliminary research into possibly adding K-9s back to the force. It's not yet known if adding dogs is feasible, or how many the bureau might add to the force, as officials are still exploring the idea, Spizarny said.
That includes looking for any grant funding opportunities that could help pay for the dogs, he said.
"It comes down to finances," Spizarny said.
Spizarny noted that a number of officers on the city's police force, which stood at 193 officers when three new officers were sworn in on Aug. 28, have expressed an interest in a K-9 program.
He said there are many functions a police dog can do, including drug and explosive searches and tracking missing people or suspects who have fled from law enforcement. Horus, a Labrador retriever who became a member of the Erie Bureau of Fire in late 2022, is trained to sniff out accelerants at fire scenes.
More: Erie Bureau of Fire adds Horus, a four-legged firefighter, to aid fire scene investigations
Police dogs played a big role in two large-scale searches for fugitives in Pennsylvania this summer. They were used in tracking Michael Burham, who escaped from the Warren County Prison on July 6 while facing charges in a Warren County kidnapping and wanted for questioning in a Chautauqua County homicide. Burham was on the run for more than a week before he was eventually captured in Warren County on July 15.
More: Escape from Warren County Prison: Timeline of Michael Burham case
Earlier this month, a K-9 with the U.S. Border Patrol helped capture convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante after he escaped from the Chester County Prison on Aug. 31.
Police now rely on outside help
The last Erie police dog's retirement in January 2014 ended a 47-year relationship that Erie police had with K-9s. The bureau's K-9 Corps was formed in 1967 with 10 dogs trained for patrol and other duties, and the force had as many as 11 dogs in the early 1990s before the unit slowly decreased with every dog and handler's retirement, police reported at the time the last dog left the force.
The department also had an accelerant-sniffing dog that worked with a city police fire investigator for a time during the 2000s.
When Erie police need a dog to assist in tracking a person or detecting possible explosives, they now must call in help from an outside agency.
Several municipal police departments in the Erie region, including Edinboro in Erie County, the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office in western New York and Cambridge Springs, Meadville and Titusville in Crawford County, have K-9 officers.
Edinboro police added its dog to the force in May after its previous K-9 officer, Kenzo, retired in January, said Edinboro Police Chief Landon Silva, who was Kenzo's handler. The new dog, Amigo, is trained in narcotics detection, patrol duties including tracking and building and article searches, and handler protection, Silva said.
The Pennsylvania State Police also have a number of K-9 officers available to assist in local investigations, although none is currently a part of state police Troop E, which covers Erie, Crawford, Venango and Warren counties.
The volunteer Northwest Pennsylvania K-9 Search and Rescue is additionally available to assist in finding missing people and human remains. Its primary coverage area is Erie and six surrounding counties, according to information on the group's website.
New dog coming to Wesleyville
The Wesleyville Police Department is about to add a K-9 officer to the seven-officer borough police force.
The department is using private donations it received to purchase a dog and related equipment and to send the dog's handler for training in December, Wesleyville Police Chief Robert Buzanowski said. The department has not yet selected a dog, but will do so in November, he said.
The dog and the officer who will serve as its handler are expected to be ready for work in January, Buzanowski said.
Wesleyville is adding the dog, which will be trained in drug detection and search and rescue, to fill a void in an area of Erie County that currently has no working K-9s, Buzanowski said. The dog will be an asset not only to Wesleyville but to the Lawrence Park and North East police departments, building on a partnership the three eastern Erie County municipal departments have developed, he said.
Wesleyville, Lawrence Park and North East police now work together on such things as officer training programs, and they recently teamed up to do testing for officer candidates.
Answering the call: Small police departments in east Erie team up to attract new hires
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie police exploring adding K-9s back to force following absence
