| News Releases
News 2007
News
2008
April 18, 2008 Sheriff's
Office employee's, sold to the highest bidder!
Sheriff's Office employees Sgt. Doug Burke and Dispatcher Charisse
Zuppardo volunteered to participate in the 20th Anniversary Benefit Auction held for the
Auglaize County Crisis Center. Sheriff Solomon paraded the two onto the auction
block in handcuffs to be sold. Sgt. Burke's service was that of lawn care, while
Dispatcher Zuppardo promised house cleaning and cooking services.
After a brief session of friendly banter between the
employees and Sheriff Solomon, the sale continued with Sgt. Burke fetching a $575.00
donation for the Crisis Center and Dispatcher Zuppardo bringing in a bid of $325.00.
April 14, 2008
The children at the Auglaize County Creative Kids Head Start
Program, Wapakoneta, were treated to a talk on different safety issues by Auglaize County
Sheriff's Office D.A.R.E. Deputy Sam Blank.
Deputy Peterson and K-9 Bandit also made an
appearance and discussed Bandit's job and his abilities. Bandit loved all the
attention from the kids during the petting session that followed this photo.
March 26, 2008
|
The Evening Leader
Staff photo/B.J. Bethel
Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon uses a bite
sleeve to demonstrate how Bandit takes down a
suspect Wednesday at the St.Marys Rotary
Club's weekly meeting held at the Eagles. |
The Evening
Leader
By B.J. BETHEL
Assistant Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon and Deputy Mike Peterson were guests
at St. Marys Rotary Wednesday and they brought a furry guest of their own along for the
event.
Bandit, a 5-year-old black shepherd police dog,
was the featured attraction. The sizable canine greeted Rotarians and provided a K-9
demonstration.
Solomon told Rotarians Bandit performed 11 trackings last year and 29 narcotic finds. He
was in one parade and he’s often used as an ambassador for the sheriff’s office
and travels to local schools in that role.
“He’s a big teddy bear,” Solomon said.
Bandit lives with Peterson, whose family treats him as a normal pet. He goes to work and
has free range at the sheriff’s office, where the dispatchers like to feed him
treats.
Bandit is from the Czech Republic and was brought to the United States, where the
sheriff’s department purchased him. Solomon estimated total costs for the dog to be
near $6,500.
The money to purchase Bandit came from donations and from a seizure in a drug bust several
years ago. The department also purchased a Ford Explorer for him to ride in.
“The costs for him were minimal,” Solomon said.
The dog has been with the department two and a half years. Peterson, who has been a deputy
for 12 years, attended K-9 school with the dog, which took six to seven weeks and was 10
to 12 hours a day of work. He eventually became a state-certified narcotic dog.
Bandit alerts officers to the presence of narcotics passively.
“There are two types,” Peterson said. “Aggressive means the dog is alert
and will scratch and scratch. In a passive alert, like Bandit, they will sit and stare and
may start to drool after a while.”
Peterson said he had to be alert himself being with a passive dog.
If the dog is in a car searching, it may be easy to miss the signal that something is
present.
“One reason we got a passive dog is because of civil issues,” Solomon said.
“Aggressive dogs can scratch up a car when alerted.”
Bandit also is used to conduct searches for people. He does this by tracking the most
recent scent in the area.
The dog is also trained to bite, as Solomon demonstrated with a protective sleeve.
Peterson performed a mock-arrest on Solomon, who then shoved his deputy away and began
yelling at the dog. Bandit, who had a slow start due to the slippery floor, managed to get
going and grab Solomon by the sleeve.
The dog, which was excited to get to perform, took the sleeve back onto the Rotary podium
before working his way back onto the floor.
Solomon said he found out one time how strong the dog was when he refused to let go of the
sleeve. The dog dragged him several feet across a football field.
“I get nervous when he’s bearing down on me,” Solomon said.
Peterson said he has the option of buying Bandit from the department for $1 when the dog
retires.
January 30, 2008
Abbey
Ruppert and Alexander Shoup present to Sheriff Solomon a flower, thanking the Auglaize
County Sheriff's Office for it's service to the community. This presentation was in
honor of Catholic Schools Week 2008. Abbey and Alexander both attend St.Joseph
Catholic School.
January 6, 2008
Members and support Staff of the
Auglaize County Sheriff's Office attended the second annual Sheriff's Office Christmas
Party and Awards Banquet. The following awards were presented:
Perfect
Attendance for 2007:
Deputy Sgt.
Douglas Burke
Deputy Sgt. James
Holtzapple
Deputy Michael Peterson
Corrections
Officer Kenneth Koch
Civilian
Award Commendation:
Tammy Brown
Mary Eyink
Timothy Gibson
Penny Helmstetter
Civilian
Commendation:
Office
Support Staff of the year:
Mary Logan
Teresa Poeppelman
Dispatcher of
the year:
Deputy of
the year:
Corrections
Officer of the year:
Auxiliary
Deputy of the year:
Five year
safe driving award:
|
