Thomasville and Davidson County law enforcement needs community support for K9 grant
The Thomasville Police Department and the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office needs some community support to secure a potential grant to fund their K9 programs.
Aftermath Services is a national biohazard and trauma clean up service that awards yearly grants to law enforcement agencies to improve existing K9 programs or help create new ones by providing financial support for safety equipment, training, and other expenses.
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Departments with the most community votes could be awarded $2,500 grants. Voting is from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31 and the winners will be announced on Nov. 3.
The public may vote once every 24 hours on the website, www.aftermath.com/k9-grant and once daily on Instagram (@AftermathK9Grant) and Facebook (@AftermathCares) by liking the daily post and posting the agency name and state they wish to vote for in the comment section.
Lt. Wesley Barber with the Thomasville Police Department said he is hopeful the department will be successful in their bid for the grant because any extra funding to help their K9 officers is helpful.
“We are looking to get more equipment for training,” said Barber. “Just like everywhere else, the city is having issues with funding, so we need this grant to make sure our K9 units are getting the training they need, and it takes a little bit off the taxpayer.”
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The grants are awarded by tier and are based on the number of employees per department. Tier 1 is departments with 25 employees or less; Tier 2 has between 26 and 50 employees; Tier 3 is for departments between 51 and 100 employees and Tier 4 is for departments with over 101 officers.
The agency with the most community votes from each tier will be awarded the top prizes. Grant must be used for the sole purpose of maintaining or creating their K9 unit.
Lt. Wesley Barber said K9 officers bring needed support to other officers not only because of their tracking skills, but also as ambassadors for law enforcement.
“They add an extra layer to the control of criminal elements, but they are also a good way to get involved with the community, everyone enjoys it when they do demonstrations. Our officers have a special connection to their K9’s, they love what they do, and they love to serve.”
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Thomasville and Davidson County law enforcement seek votes for K9 grant
