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The
MSU Police K-9 Unit began in 1984 when an officer and dog were sent to Baltimore,
Maryland to train with the Baltimore Police Department for 16 weeks. The
Baltimore Police Department was selected for this original training because
it was the only federally certified training center in the United States,
and it offered an Instructor Training Course in addition to the Basic K-9
Training Course. At the end of the training the officer was able to train
additional K-9 teams here at MSU.
Upon returning from Baltimore two additional K-9 teams were trained for
the MSU Police Department. These K-9 teams were immediately tested when
they were called upon to track on two high profile cases involving a homicide
of a East Lansing Police Officer and an attempted murder in Spartan Village
on the MSU Campus. Both tracks assisted in the apprehension of suspects,
and the credibility of the K-9 Unit was established.
Since 1984 the MSU K-9 Unit has trained K-9 teams for the Lansing Police
Department, East Lansing Police Department, Meridian Township Police Department,
Ingham County Sheriff Office, Eaton County Sheriff Department and Flint
Police Department. In addition, MSU K-9 teams have been sent to assist
other police agencies on calls ranging from lost children to armed robberies
and homicides.
Currently the department has six K-9 teams assigned to the patrol division.
All of the teams are trained as patrol dogs with the ability to track
suspects or lost persons, make apprehensions, locate evidence or other
property, and search buildings. In addition, four teams are cross trained
to locate explosives and two teams are trained to locate narcotics.
With several Presidential visits over the last few years, as well as numerous
other dignitaries that visit the campus, the explosive teams have been
used extensively. They also provide assistance to other local agencies.
The narcotic teams are used to check vehicles on traffic stops, odor
investigations in residence halls, or assist on search warrants. The ability
of these dogs to locate hidden narcotics has made them invaluable in this
type of investigation.
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