Phoenix Police K9 Unit Expands In 2020: New K9, New Facility, And New Training Tools

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

December 21, 2020

You've heard it before and you'll hear it again: a dog is a man's best friend. But in policework, a dog may just be a man's best colleague, too. "Mattis, he's assigned to one of our SWAT teams," Phoenix Police Officer Christopher Villa said of K9 Mattis."And just recently, we had a guy, armed suspect, he didn't want to come out of the house. So we had to send Mattis in there, and he got to the suspect before the officer's did."K9 Mattis joined the force at the beginning of 2020, purchased with funds from the Phoenix Police Foundation.

He is one of four dogs added to the unit this year, bringing the Phoenix Police K9 Unit to 17 dogs total. "It was really a great example of the partnership between the Phoenix Police Foundation and the city because there was really a need for new dogs, and there was a budget for three," Tim Thomas, president of the Phoenix Police Foundation, said. "So we were able to step in and fill that gap right there instead of waiting for the next cycle."The main priority for these dogs is to be a locating tool for police. Sometimes, that is to locate suspects.

"We send these dogs into some of the most dangerous situations before we'll send an officer in there," Officer Villa said. "Ultimately, we love these dogs and we treat them like family members, but at the same time, I gotta have all these guys be able to come home to their families. And that's why these dogs are huge for us because we can send them into a dark room where a bad guy's hiding, and be able to get to them before that bad guy gets to us."But K9s are also used to find drugs and explosives, or other crime scene evidence.

This year, the K9 Unit got a new behavior shaping device to help train dogs in odor detection. Narcotics trainer Lisa Fisher said this device is integral in preparing dogs for their jobs.

"We'll take a PVC pipe that's stuffed with cotton balls full of the narcotic odor that we train the dogs on: methamphetamine, heroine, and cocaine," Officer Fisher said. "We stuff the pipe down in that tube.We'll hide the tube under one of these boxes. And when the dog finds and alerts on the odor, we launch the tube and then it launches the pipe out kind of like that."The unit also got new bite suits for bite training. Plus, they got a new fenced-in facility with a shade at the Phoenix Regional Police Academy. So now, instead of going to city parks and other public places, officers can bring their K9s to train and play at the Academy.

All of this was not possible without the Phoenix Police Foundation, continually supporting the force and ensuring the safety of our community.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.