memorial2001

Memorials to Fallen K-9s

2003 page 10
The F.A.S.T. Co. donates sets of cards to all partners
I need your help to inform me of such losses.

Dept. addresses available for those who want to send condolences to officers. See below

In Loving Memory of
K-9 NARCO LODD
March 24, 2003

Partner: Sgt. Mike Parrish
Chambers County Sheriff's Dept. AL
Chief Deputy C.M. Williams
Chambers County Sheriff's Department
2 Lafayette Street - Lafayette, AL 36862
(334)864-4333

Narco visiting students

Graveside funeral services K-9 Narco 3/27/03
Chambers County Sheriff's Department K-9

The three K-9 officers and handlers shown above attended Thursday’s graveside service of the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department’s fallen comrade, Narco. The Lee County K-9 Unit, the Opelika Police Department K-9 Unit, the Phenix City K-9 Unit and a Military Police K-9 Unit were among those attending the service.
(Photo -Anne lenn-Holliday)

cards mailed - no word

K-9 Narco killed in the line of duty
By From staff reports - Valley Times Staff Writer

LaFAYETTE -- The Chambers County Sheriff's Department reported this morning that it received a call around 12:30 CST Monday from a man who owns property in the Post Oak Fork community in a rural area of the northern section of the county. He said that he'd observed a pickup truck in a wooded area behind an old country home that's used as a hunting camp. He reported a strong chemical odor at the home site, a sheriff's department official said. Sheriff's deputies, including Sgt. Mike Parrish and K-9 partner Narco, and Chambers County Multi-jurisdictional Drug Task Force officers responded to the scene. Upon their arrival, three men attempted to flee. Parrish instructed them to halt, and when they refused to do so, he released Narco in an attempt to apprehend them. It has been reported that one of the suspects, who has been identified as David Franklin Cotney, 30, of Valley, fired a 12-gauge shotgun killing the canine officer. He then attempted to turn the weapon on Parrish before being subdued and taken into custody. The sheriff's department reported that the two other suspects fled into the woods and reported that officers from several law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area. The spokesman reported that a helicopter was requested and dispatched from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation Aviation Unit to perform an air search and reported K-9 tracking units were sent from the Lee County Sheriff's Department and the Opelika Police Department to aid local law enforcement agencies in the ground search. He said that tracking dogs located a second suspect, who was covered with leaves and limbs in a brush thicket cover in an attempt to evade discovery by the helicopter unit. Allen Lee Nelson, 34, of Valley was then taken into custody. Law enforcement officials learned the identity of the the third suspect, Johnathan Boyd Weldon, 26, of Lanett who was spotted in Valley later that day and was recognized as one of the suspects. The Valley Police Department was notified, and following a high-speed chase that ended in the Cleveland Road area, Weldon fled and eluded capture. The sheriff's department took him into custody at a residence in the West Point Lake community of Booger Hollow. All three suspects are currently incarcerated at the Chambers County Detention Center and face charges of killing a police dog, attempted murder and unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance first degree. A spokesman reported that an illegal drug lab was located behind the old home site. A sheriff's department spokesman said funeral and memorial services for Narco will be held sometime on Thursday, March 27.

Bridges honors drug dog Narco's memory
By From staff reports
Staff Writer March 26, 2003 10:34 AM EST
CUSSETA -- State Rep. DuWayne Bridges honored the memory of a Chambers County drug dog killed Monday in the line of duty. The dog, named Narco, was a community favorite, beloved of children and senior citizens throughout the area. He was killed when a suspect shot him during a successful drug raid in a rural area in northeast Chambers County. "All of us who had been around Narco loved him and were saddened to hear of this tragedy," Rep. Bridges said. "It's most important, though, to recognize the sacrifices that are made by the men and women who work so hard to keep the scourge of drugs off our streets. The gunshot that took Narco could easily have done the same to a Sheriff's deputy or a police officer. I am pleased that the three individuals were captured and will be brought to justice." Rep. Bridges said he's pleased that a ceremony will be held Thursday to honor Narco's service to the community. "Since I will be unable to be present when the service takes place," said Bridges, "I wanted to let the men and women of the Chambers County Sheriff's Department. I want everyone in law enforcement to know that I respect and honor them and their efforts to protect our county."

In Loving Memory of
K-9 BLESK
December 16, 1990 - March 20, 2003

Partner: Sgt. Jack Fliter
City of Bethlehem Police Dept.
10 E. Church St. Bethlehem, PA 18018
610 865 7187 main number & 610.865.7179

I lost my retired K-9 partner, Blesk, on 20 March 2003.
K-9 Blesk was a patrol dog, born 12/16/90, and
imported from Czechoslovakia. He retired from active service in September, 2000. He was a wonderful partner.
He was credited with 72 arrests during his career.
Blesk had to be put down at the age of 12 years after developing spondelosis.

I am presently the K-9 unit supervisor for my department.
This is my third K-9 partner, which is a patrol/explosives dog, K-9 Alan. Alan became my partner in September, 2000. He is my new patrol/ explosives partner, Alan
(pronounced O-lahn), also a German Shepherd, from Hungary.

cards will be mailed 3/31 & recd to use with T.Y. notes.

In Loving Memory of
K-9 ROCKY II age 16
January 1, 2003

Partner: Officer Jane Martin
Memphis Police Dept. TN
201 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38103
phone: 901-458-2112

Rocky and I met June 1988. He was 19 months old and had been donated by his owner to the Memphis Police Department Dog Squad. As a police officer for more than 10 years, I had no idea what kind of partner Rocky would become to me. We trained together for 14 weeks under some of the hottest conditions the South could hand out. Rocky would never fit the description most people have of a trained police dog. Work was a game and he loved to work. He also liked to perform, so we demonstrated his abilities at day care centers, schools and our Mid South Fair. He loved children and was very friendly. Yet when it was time to put in our 8 hours in a patrol car, he knew his business. He has assisted me in over 200 arrests during his 7 year career as a working police dog. He was always by my side and the best partner I've ever had. I went into numerous situations with Rocky I never would have gone alone. Rocky was also trained as an explosive detection dog. Rocky led a very busy and productive life. He earned a much-deserved retirement, living in my home his last 8 years. He turned 16 on Nov. 19, 2002. Rocky learned to stay behind when I left for work with a new dog. He had to settle in to protecting the house and yard, with his worn teeth and graying muzzle. We were a team. He watched over me and I trusted him. I watched over him as he gently slipped away on Jan. 1, 2003. Rocky made it possible for me to become the first woman dog handler on the Memphis Police Dog Squad. He was my best friends. I yelled my warning and released my dog.

.cards mailed 3/15/03-recd. 4/20/03

my new dog's name is Rommy.
2 years & 2 months old

.About BRYAN -->

March 27, 2003 at approximately 0500 hrs. I lost my partner, Bryan. I should have been off and getting ready to leave for Ohio to see my daughter and son-in-law. Our squad was short that night and instead of raising hell about someone being called in to work over-time, I worked. Bryan and I had the whole city of Memphis to cover from 2200 hrs. till 0500 hours. It was the last call of the night, alarm on a business with one possibly still inside. There were plenty of officers on the scene covering the building as I arrived. I was advised of an open window and could see the overhead door the suspect was trying to exit as officers arrived. (continue -->)

In Loving Memory of
K-9 BRYAN LODD age 9
March 27, 2003

Partner: Officer Jane Martin
Memphis Police Dept. TN

Bryan and I entered the building by the open overhead door and closed it behind us. Bryan moved toward the rear of the building and began indicating odor around a small pick-up truck, which was parked inside the building. He scooted under the rear of the truck, which was backed up to another overhead door. All I remember is a slight sound and I no longer heard the sound of my dog. I heard muffled noises and could see flashlights on other side of the fiberglass wall of the building. I advised over the radio I could not find my dog and asked if he was outside the building. I heard someone say over the radio that Bryan was outside. I frantically looked for the opening he had exited the building. I could not find it. I heard someone say “shots” over the radio and asked if someone had shot my dog. I was advised that he had been shot. I tried every door I had in that area and could not exit the business. I ran for the front of the building to the door we had entered the building and asked where my dog was. I found him at the rear of the building a couple of feet from the hole he had exited. He was already dead. I found the rear overhead door had a hole that the officers had covered with a big green garbage can. I believe the odor my dog picked up was from the officers standing near this hole and he pushed out this hole toward the officers. I had not been told before the search about this hole. The officers ran and my dog bit three officers before a fourth officer came up and shot at him twice. They said Bryan released on the second shot and ran back toward the rear of the building and dropped. I'm not sure how many times he was hit. This all happened in a matter of seconds. I could not get out of the building fast enough. The officers panicked and my dog was just doing his job. I worked with Bryan for 6 years. He was first and foremost a patrol dog and also trained in drug detection. He was good with his nose. He was not social, but he loved me and would never hurt me. Bryan was my second dog in my almost 15 years on the Memphis Dog Squad. This should have not happened. I have become a part of talking to our recruit classes and in-service classes about what to do in situations with dogs, be it police dogs or citizens’ dog. If I can get one officer to try something else instead of deadly force on a dog I will feel like my partner had not died in vain. Bryan was cremated and is back home with me. He joins my first partner, Rocky. Rocky was 16 years old 11-19-02. He spent the last 6 years of retirement in the comfort of my home. Because of failing health I put him down on New Years Day of this year. I was just starting to let him go when this happened to Bryan. They set side-by-side in my den,
"the two best partners I ever had."

In Loving Memory of
K-9 IGOR
Igor Vom Kulten Eck
March 24, 2003

Partner: Officer Perry Martin
FORT PIERCE POLICE DEPT
Department Chief of Police Eugene Savage
920 South US 1 - Fort Pierce, FL 34950
772-461-3820 - Officer Perry Martin.
called again 4/24/03 - left voice mail.
(561)461-3820 (left voice mail 3/29/03) and again 4/8/03
for photo. heard from reporter 4/8/03

I've passed along all e-mails I've received about his K9 to Officer Martin.
Derek Simmonsen
Fort Pierce Tribune

Police officer remembers his K-9 partner
By Derek Simmonsen staff writer 3-29, 2003 -Fort Pierce Tribune
Officer Perry Martin and his K-9 partner Igor had a secret language. If the German shepherd cocked his head and his ears pointed in a certain direction, it meant the suspect was that way. If he passed a door, cocked his head to the side and kept walking, it meant the person was hiding behind the doorway and Igor was merely checking the other doors to make sure no one else would get the jump on Martin. For about a decade, Martin spent every hour of every day with Igor Vom Kulten Eck, the department's legendary K-9 and one of the most celebrated and toughest dogs ever to work for the force. Igor was put to sleep Monday after back

Fort Pierce Police K-9 Igor plays ball with his handler,
Officer Perry Martin, in December 1999.

and muscle problems became so severe that he could hardly sleep at night. It was a rough moment for Martin, supervisor of the K-9 unit, who fulfilled a lifelong dream when he joined the unit with Igor in 1991 after spending five years with the department. "When I was a little kid, I found out that police officers could take their dogs to work," Martin said. "Ever since then, I've wanted to do this. I've always been into dogs." As he sorted through Igor's photographs and awards Wednesday afternoon, Martin's current K-9 Jazz curled up near his feet. While Igor had a fierce reputation, it is the quieter moments they shared that bring a smile to Martin's face. Like the time Igor served as best man at his wedding. Or the way the 112-pound dog, who never hesitated in tackling a suspect, would come home each night to check on his best friend Scooter, a pot-bellied pig who taught him how to use a doggy door. When it came to work, though, Igor was all business. "He was very, very protective of me," Martin said. "He had a pretty nasty reputation . . . he was not a sociable dog." Fellow officers knew not to approach Martin lightly while Igor was working or the dog could well attack them. Criminal suspects -- he had about 70 apprehensions in his career -- learned a similar lesson. Despite his grumpy demeanor at work, Martin said the dog never snapped at any of his children. "He was just an all-around good police dog," said Sgt. Katherine England, who has known Igor since joining the force in 1991. "Igor had a hunch for it. He was quite an asset." Igor joined the force at the age of 18 months, going through 400 hours of basic training and hundreds more hours of training practice during his career. During that time, he got to know many of the officers on the force well. "We get close to the dogs," England said. "They are a fellow officer. They put their lives on the line for us." As Officer Robert Stagner, a former K-9 officer, noted at Igor's retirement: "He commanded respect when he came out of the car." Igor retired two years ago, almost 13 years old, and initially had a hard time getting used to civilian life. "When I got home I would let him ride in my car for a bit," Martin said. "He would get real antsy otherwise." his old age began to take its toll on Igor, he eventually settled into his new, quieter life. Even in retirement, Igor still received plenty of birthday cards, notes and letters from people around the country who have followed his career, Martin said. "I'm going to miss him," Martin said. "He was always, always with me. If I was on vacation, so was he. Where you saw me, you saw him, too."

Martin's currently works with K-9 Jazz .

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