Published: July 06, 2009 07:56 am      

Camp introduces kids to cops

Richmond police officers are getting some positive interaction every day during June and July with about 35 of the city’s middle-school aged residents.

The city-sponsored Police Camp, in its second summer at Betty Miller Park, is rewarding for both officers and the children, said Sgt. Willard Reardon, the police department public affairs officer.

“We have lots of recreational activities, so the kids are having a good time,” he said.

The camp is not all fun and games, however.

The camp also includes educational activities each day that gives the kids opportunities to learn from and interact with positive role models, Reardon said.

On Friday, the campers received a visit from officer Kurtis Heatherton and his K-9 partner, a German shepherd named Bari.

To demonstrate Bari’s skills, officer Katherine Havens donned a protective sleeve and the police dog clamped his jaws around her forearm.

The police never use an animal to harm a suspect, but a trained police dog can tug a suspect out of hiding without putting an officer at risk, Heatherton told the children.

If a suspect who is believed to be armed will not come out of hiding, the police may send in a dog after the subject has been warned three times that the dog is going in, the officer said.

“We’ve only had to do that twice in the past year,” Heatherton said.

In addition to using dogs on patrol, the police force uses them to find illegal substances, such as drugs, or to track down suspects or missing persons.

“Dogs don’t see as well as humans,” Heatherton told the children. “Some dogs can see red, but most dogs see only shades of gray.”

The animals have much stronger senses of smell and hearing, however.

After Heatherton and Bari gave their presentation, the children had lots of questions.

“Do you get to take Bari home with you?” One asked.

“Yes, he goes home with me,” Heatherton said.

The city provides a fence and dog house for officers to house their partners.

The dogs do not stay inside an officer’s home, however.

“A good police dog makes a bad house dog,” Heatherton said.

“What does Bari eat?” One youngster wanted to know.

“He eats regular dog food, but we buy him only the best,” Heatherton said. “He works hard, and we want him to be in great shape, so we buy him only the best dog food.”

“Does Bari enjoy his work?”

“Yes. Bari loves his job and is always eager to come to work,” his human partner said. “When Bari sees me put on my uniform, he starts getting excited. He really gets excited when he sees me coming to him with his leash.”

The children were interested to learn that Bari came from the Republic of Belarus and responds to commands in Czech or German.

Heatherton, who once served in Germany with the U.S. military, said he prefers to use German commands, because most are one syllable.

“One syllable commands are easier for the dog to understand,” he said.

Police dogs are intelligent and very loyal, Heatherton.

“They are very protective of their handlers,” he said.

Among other police programs planned for the camp include a team of detectives who will demonstrate crime scene investigation techniques, Reardon said.

Visits by the fire department, the Kentucky National Guard and Kentucky State Police Trooper Chris Chenault are also planned.

Trooper Chenault will talk about his career as a linebacker with the Cincinnati Bengals as well as his work with the state police.

Police Camp is one example of proactive or community policing, Reardon said.

“Last year’s camp was a great success and both Chief Larry Brock and City Manager David Evans are committed to seeing it continue,” he said.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.