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Struthers seeks $10,000 to buy, train police dog
STRUTHERS — Struthers Police Department is turning to man’s best friend to improve its ability to sniff out criminals and, at the same time, better its relationship with the community.
Patrolman Jason M. Murzda has proposed establishing a one-dog, one-man canine unit. He is also leading the effort to raise, through donations, the $10,000 it costs to buy and train the dog.
Struthers Fraternal Order of Police Local 41 will pay for the health care costs and feed and care for the dog. The only cost to the city will be liability insurance, Murzda said.
Murzda, who would be the police dog’s handler, has recommended hiring Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpsville, Pa., which imports and trains Belgian malinois, German shepherds and Dutch shepherds to train as police service dogs.
Shallow Creek owner John Brannon said he gets his dogs in Europe because the animals there are bred for character and work skills, rather than for conformation and the show ring. Brannon said he personally selects the dogs before they are shipped.
The optimal age for training is 16 to 24 months. By that time, the dog is mature enough to handle the training and its personality is set, Brannon said.
Criminals are getting smarter, and they know which police departments do not have K-9 units and gravitate toward those communities, Murzda said.
Struthers is attractive to major drug traffickers for the same reason as it is to business owners and entrepreneurs, he said. It is centrally located between cities such as Chicago and New York, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and is a short drive from Detroit and Columbus.
A canine unit would make a major contribution toward apprehending drug traffickers and seizing their expensive, illegally gained assets. The dogs can also be used to search buildings, increasing the safety of human officers, and to locate lost children or seniors who have become disoriented, Murzda said.
Also, a canine unit would be a great public relations tool to strengthen the police department’s relationship with the community by showing that the city is taking proactive measures to protect its streets.
The current working police dogs from area departments are very approachable animals that are chosen for their friendly social skills. They are used in demonstrations at schools, businesses, churches, block watch meetings, civic groups and retirements homes as well as fighting crime, Murzda said.
The modern police dog is not like the aggressive dogs of the 1960s, which were trained to “bite and hold.” Instead, it is trained to “bark and hold,” Murzda said.
A properly trained police dog is approachable and socially accepted and will only become aggressive upon command of the handler, Murzda. The Struthers dog would have only one handler. Murzda, 36, has been a Struthers policeman for four years, and before that for four years in Poland village.
Mayor Terry Stocker said he supports formation of a canine unit. He said he was very impressed by a demonstration of a Youngstown Police Department canine unit. Drugs were hidden in the Struthers Municipal Court, and the dogs found it in a just a few minutes. “I feel it would be a very valuable tool for the police department,” the mayor said.
Anthony Lariccia of Boardman, who grew up in Struthers, has donated $5,000 toward the purchase and training of the dog, and another $3,300 has been collected from other donors. Murzda said the FOP is hoping to collect enough money to also purchase a used Ohio State Highway Patrol turnpike cruiser to convert to a canine unit.
He said the Florida State Highway Patrol has said it would donate a $2,000 cage system for the car.
People who want to donate money for the canine unit should make out a check or money order to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 41, to the attention of Patrolman Jason Murzda, and send it to 6 Elm St., Struthers 44471.
alcorn@vindy.com