Waukesha Police Department swears in 3 new K-9 officers
Updated: 4:16 p.m. on June 1, 2021
WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The city of Waukesha has not had a K-9 officer for a few years, but they do now.
In fact, their new K-9 unit, three dogs strong, was sworn into service Tuesday, June 1.
K-9 Arko was ready for action right away at Tuesday's ceremony.
Waukesha's unit was funded by donations and partly by the sale of popular stuffed K-9 officers.
Officers say the K-9s improve efficiency and they help keep human officers safe.
"To be able to not only show up and give an immediate deterrence on your due processes given," said Captain Dan Baumann, with the Waukesha Police Department. "We're gonna tell you what the dog is gonna do. It's trained to bite, it's trained to apprehend and to bring a solution under...to resolve a solution quickly."
K-9 Ryker specializes in electronics detection and missing persons.
The other two dogs, Arko and Emma, are trained to track and apprehend suspects.
------
Posted: 10:43 a.m. on May 28, 2021
WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Three new K-9 officers are set to be sworn in as official working dogs with the Waukesha Police Department next week.
The event for K-9's Emma, Arko, and Ryker will take place Tuesday, June 1 at Waukesha City Hall.
The K-9 unit is not funded with tax dollars. The Waukesha Police Department says donations are always accepted.
More about the K-9's below from the department:
K-9 Emma is a female Dutch Shepherd. K9 Emma is a Patrol K9. K9 Emma is trained in searches, tracking, suspect apprehension and handler protection. K9 Emma was given to our agency through the Emma Loves Dogs Foundation after they were asked by Crossroads K9's for Cops to select an agency to receive a police dog in honor of the late Emma Mertens. The Emma Loves Dogs Foundation is named after Emma Mertens to continue her legacy. K9 Emma is handled by Officer Jeremy Bousman.
K-9 Arko is a male Belgian Malinois. K9 Arko is a Patrol K9 trained in searches, tracking, suspect apprehension and handler protection. A donor wished to purchase a patrol K9 for our department and made K9 Arko possible for our agency. K9 Arko is handled by Officer Nate Smidt.
K-9 Ryker is a male Black Lab who is trained to search for missing endangered people such as missing children or missing elderly people. K9 Ryker is also trained in electronics detection. K9 Ryker is handled by Specialist Niki Nelson. K9 Ryker and Specialist Nelson work closely with our Internet Crimes Against Children Detectives. This allows K9 Ryker to locate electronic evidence, focusing on child predators, who often hid their files on small devices which are nearly impossible to locate. K9 Ryker is only the fourth dog in the state trained to do this. K9 Ryker was made possible through donations. a.m.