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Santa
Monica Police Department’s
K9 Roy, a Belgian Malinois,
was born in the Netherlands on April 10, 1990, and later trained for
the sole purpose of becoming a Police Service Dog.
He began his training early on by a dog sport club in Europe
for several years. Just
after his third birthday, Roy tested and achieved the prestigious KNPV
title. This title
certifies that Roy had achieved the highest qualities and met all of
the rigorous standards while becoming a police service dog.
After Roy’s certification, Adlerhorst International purchased
him and continued his training as a police canine.
Adlerhorst International, located in Riverside, California, has
been training police K9 handlers for over 30 years.
At
the age of 3 ½, Roy was purchased by the Santa Monica Police
Department in June of 1993 and teamed with then Officer Dave Thomas.
Together, they completed another demanding five-week schedule
of training to become certified by the standards set by Police Officer
Standards and Training (POST). At
the completion of this training, Officer Thomas and Roy were now ready
to protect the citizens of Santa Monica where they made an immediate
impact. K9 Roy joined the
three other officer/K9 teams employed by the Santa Monica Police
Department. K9 Roy has
been a police service dog for the past nine years.
As a police service dog, K9 Roy lives with his handler at his
home just like any regular pet. He
is part of the officer’s family.
Officer
Thomas and K9 Roy were called to assist Culver City PD after officers
had pursued a stolen vehicle at high speeds.
The suspects abandoned their car, and upon fleeing, one suspect
fired a handgun at the pursuing officers and secreted himself in the
surrounding neighborhood. K9
Roy was able to locate one of the suspects hiding in a resident’s
garage.
Officer
Thomas and K9 Roy were called out again to Culver City PD on January
21, 1994. Officers went
to arrest a suspect wanted for perjury and arson at a local DMV
office. The suspect fled
in a vehicle and attempted to run over a police officer, knocking the
officer to the ground. The
suspect abandoned his vehicle a short while later and fled into a
Culver City neighborhood. K9 Roy sniffed out the suspect who was hiding inside a locked
garage.
An
officer was attempting to arrest a drug dealer in Palisades Park.
The suspect violently fought with the officer.
The officer was able to radio for help, and K9 Roy arrived at
the scene. K9 Roy was instrumental in subduing the suspect and
overcoming the resistance of the combatant, preventing the officer
from being injured during the scuffle.
Armed
suspects who had just fled a restaurant were surprised by arriving
police officers who gave chase. One
of the suspects got away and concealed himself in an adjacent business
district. K9 Roy located
this suspect, in less than 2 minutes, hiding deep inside some
overgrown brush.
In
1995, Officer Thomas was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and Roy was
transferred to Officer Mike VonAchen for continued service to the
city. Although K9 Roy was
an extremely loyal dog, changing handlers was no problem for K9 Roy
since he loved his job.
In
1996, K9 Roy was instrumental in apprehending a suspect who was armed
with a butcher knife. He
had broken his girlfriends nose and slice his own wrists.
K9
Roy apprehended an armed robbery suspect who was wielding a steel bed
rail at police officers and refusing to comply with their commands.
By
this time K9 Roy had made quite a name for himself throughout the city
and the police K9 community. This
became evident when Roy was asked to assist the Santa Monica SWAT in
their effort in serving an arrest warrant for a wanted murder suspect.
Hearing the officer’s approach, the suspect fled out of a
second story window and began running away.
When the suspect observed K9 Roy, he quickly gave up and was
taken into custody.
Throughout
K9 Roy’s illustrious career, he has been called out from his home to
assist officers while off duty. In
one incident, K9 Roy was called out from his home to help in the
apprehension of bank robbery suspects who had concealed themselves in
a residential neighborhood after a high-speed pursuit.
K9 Roy found one suspect hiding underneath a house and another
hiding in a locked electrical panel.
Without the use of Roy’s nose, this second suspect would not
have been found.
K9
Roy also participated in the well-publicized attempted murder of
several police officers’ that occurred at the Santa Monica Pier on
July 4th, 2000.
K9 Roy was instrumental in the arrest of the first murder
suspect who was taken into custody.
This suspect was fighting with police officers and attempting
to retrieve his own gun from his waistband.
During the melee that ensued where three police officers were
wounded by gunfire, K9 Roy was also present and a victim of attempted
murder since he was also fired at.
One round actually struck the pier flooring just below K9
Roy’s paw. K9 Roy was
not hurt.
K9
Roy was officially retired from service on August 13, 2002, after 9 ½
years of active service. He
enjoys his walks on the beach, plenty of extra attention from Mike and
his wife Allison, and much deserved sleep.
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