Last week, members of the Dowagiac Rotary Club had the opportunity to meet the city’s newest crime fighting duo — officer Kevin Roman and his four-legged partner, Tole.

During his presentation to the club, Roman talked about the experiences that he and Tole, the Dowagiac Police Department’s new K-9, have had on the road together so far.

In spite of just joining the force in July, the 3-year-old German Shepard also already assisted the department in several drug arrests — including one on his first night, where his nose managed to help police find several loaded pistols, brass knuckles, knives and more than 30 packages of methamphetamine during what was originally believed to be a routine traffic stop.

Not a bad start for any officer, dog or otherwise.

Following the retirement of the department’s previous K-9, Cessy, last summer, there was some uncertainty as to whether or not police leaders should replace her, as the price tag for purchasing a properly trained police dog is quite hefty, especially for a smaller department like Dowagiac.

Thanks to the generosity of Tom Starks, the owner of Starks Funeral Homes, Director of Public Safety Steve Grinnewald was able to move ahead with the purchase of a new German Shepard, with officer Roman picking out Tole during an initial visit to Blue Line Police K-9 to scout for a new animal.

Based off Tole’s string of initial success, it looks like Roman and his bosses picked out a definite winner.

As we said in an earlier editorial published in May, we were pleased by the department’s decision to go ahead with the purchase of a new K-9, because we too saw the benefits of having a police dog on the department staff to assist in ways human officers cannot, such as with tracking down missing people or discovering otherwise undetectable drug or weapon stashes.

Hearing about Tole’s great start makes us stand behind those words even more.

As Tole and officer Roman continue to work and gel together, we are sure the investment that the Starks family and the police department made to bring the K-9 here will pay off even more greatly.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.