EAGER TO GET TO WORK
The Edmonton Police Service’s newest canine recruits were introduced Thursday at a news conference at police headquarters. On the left is Bama, handled by Const. Dennis Dalziel, while Crimson, handled by Const. Wade Eastman, not pictured, is at right.
Crimson comes out first, whining and straining against his leash, stopping to smell everything he can get his nose on.
Next comes Bama, the younger of the two, bounding forward in hopes of catching up with his halfbrother. They spot each other and wrestle, joyously, in the atrium of Edmonton police headquarters.
Bama and Crimson aren’t yet the fearsome urban crime fighters Edmonton police hope they will become. The two are still very much puppies, starting the year-long training process to become fullfledged police service dogs.
The two were introduced to the media Thursday.
“It’s like having a new baby at home,” said Const. Dennis Dalziel, Bama’s supervisor during his early days in the service. “He’s pretty smart, but he’s a puppy. So you’ve got to remember, you’re always dealing with a little puppy. He’s a handful; he’s definitely a lot of fun.”
The Edmonton Police Service re- cently acquired the two German shepherds from a breeder in Alabama, giving them names in honour of the University of Alabama football team.
Dalziel said the service has 14 general purpose police dogs from all over the world — including canines bred in Edmonton. “So we’ll pick dogs from anywhere, really,” he said.
Bama, weighing in at 25 pounds, is the younger of the two at 13 weeks. The puppies were delivered about five weeks ago, and have been living at home with members of the EPS Canine Unit. They share a dad, but have different moms.
Const. Wade Eastman is Crimson’s official “puppy holder,” tasked with exposing him to as many places, people and environments as possible.
The dogs are living at separate houses, and don’t see a lot of each other.
“When they do see each other, it’s game on for them. They just want to play and wrestle.”
The two will spend the next 18 months learning to track and take down suspects. After that, they could specialize in detection work for drugs or explosives. If all goes well, they could be on the streets by the summer of 2019.
Edmonton police have had a dog unit since 1967. It’s dangerous work. Five Edmonton police dogs have been killed in the line of duty, said Dalziel. In 2013, police service dog Quanto died after being stabbed by a suspect.
Police dogs were involved in 96 use of force incidents last year, up from 85 the year before.
“There have been a lot of times these dogs have done very good things to help protect the citizens and plus protect the police members who were handling them,” Dalziel said.
He said the relationship between the handler and dog is complex.
“Are they your partner? I don’t know,” he said. “They’re a fantastic tool that we use, and because they ’re such a great tool, we’re able to locate people and hold them accountable for the crimes that they do.”