In Loving Memory of
K-9 VELLO
APRIL 3,
2000
Handler:
Officer Hovda
Olympia Police
Department
Olympia Police Dept.
- 900 Plum St.
Olympia WA
98501 - (360) 753-8300
"Vello and
Hovda had been nominated for the Red Cross award and were considered by
several sources to be the top contenders for the prize this year. The
team had received a missing person's report last year and was able to
track down an Alzheimer's patient who had wandered away. One blast from
a shotgun Authorities said Amos drove his white four by four pickup
truck around the locked gate that stood at the entrance to the
2-mile-long driveway of the woman's home. Leaving his girlfriend in the
truck, Amos allegedly approached the dog and shot it once with a
shotgun. He then dumped the dog into the bed of the pickup, drove off
with him and tried to hide his body miles away in a wooded area,
authorities said. Brown said that Amos knew he was killing a police dog.
In fact, he had allegedly met the dog and made threats toward Vello
during past encounters with Hovda and his estranged wife, authorities
said. In addition, Vello had become a well regarded member of the force
after undergoing three surgeries on his spine, said Sue Larson of the
American Red Cross. "As a team, the dog and Officer Hovda had come
through a lot of adversity," she said. "The dog has been very successful
in his career," added Machan. "He is missed not only by our agency but
by some others around that we do work for." moss is now charged with
killing a police dog, a class C felony, which could mean up to five
years in prison and first degree theft, which is punishable by up to 10
years in prison. He also is charged with various domestic violence
offenses that could put him behind bars for life, Brown said. A strange
twist at court. After Hovda, who had been the dog's handler for about
three years, discovered the dog missing and reported it, Lewis County
authorities went to the home where Amos lived with his girl friend,
42-year-old Mary Chichester. Brown said the sheriff's department found
blood and fur on the pickup. That was enough to get a search warrant for
Chichester's home, where the sheriff's department allegedly found more
evidence, officials said. The case got stranger at Amos' first court
hearing Wednesday when police found Chichester sitting in the audience
and arrested her because the search of her home turned up illegal
weapons. Chichester has past convictions for domestic violence and is
not permitted to keep guns, Brown said. After being arrested at court,
Chichester allegedly told police about witnessing the dog shooting. This
new information prompted Amos to later get up in court and admit to
shooting the dog, Brown said. Amos also later led police to the canine's
body, which probably would never have been found. Police grieve
Meanwhile, the death has filled many people at the Olympia Police
Department with grief. Spokesman Dick Machan said that Hovda is on leave
and too saddened to talk. "Obviously, in any of these kinds of things,
the dogs are kind of like family so it's a big loss," he said. "And it's
affected people very hard, the same way it would with anybody that you
have around a lot. "Chichester, meanwhile, faces weapons charges. Ed the
department in 1995 after K-9 Aron retired in 1996, Velez said in a press
release. Ringo participated in more than 300 searches, including
sniffing out a pound of hidden cocaine last June. He was the first K-9
in the city to be nationally certified for narcotics detection and
minimum force apprehension.
The person
who shot K-9 Vello was prosecuted and sentenced to serve time & pay
restitution. Vello was a great loss to department and especially Officer
Hovda. Many cards and well wishes were sent in honor of Vello. GOOD
NEWS: K-9 Conan just finished training school and received
exemplary scores. He has been on the job with successful tracks and
apprehensions. Good Luck Conan and your new partner. Thanks to
department secretary for updated news. emailed Ofc.Hovda's PD 10/15/02
Oct. 2002
I am working
patrol now. Have been since. Enjoying every day, thanks to Vello. He
is still with me. He school me in the art of finding people and I think
he still guides me at times. I still train with our new K-9, Conan. He
is a great police dog and has a lot of the same personalities as Vello.
I also train with Lacey's K-9 Kuda. The handle is Bob Lions and when I
was
in K-9, Bob had
Baron. Baron has since past away and now he has Kuda. So I am still
involved a little but it certainly is not like having a partner, 24
hours a day.
Nov. 2002
Since you have
emailed me, I have been thinking about all the things Vello did for me.
I just thought I would share one or two with you. Vello was injured
about the second year of his career. He had two discs go out in his
back. He barely could walk. I had to make a decision to try and fix it
or put him down. Knowing Vello and his strength and the love he had for
his job, I decided to let the doctor try and fix his back. After three
surgeries on his back, carrying him around for months while he
recovered, he came back tot he road and never lost that desire to work.
In fact, he earned the Red Cross Life saving award before his death. He
found a patient that walked away from a hospital and lost his way in the
woods. When Vello found him in the middle of the night, The elderly
gentleman was near death. If it had not been for Vello and the speed he
found him, he would not have made it and we would have never found him.
I received the award for Vello after he was killed. Vellos last track
for a suspect was for an auto thief. He ran over fences, through yards,
across streets and into his own house. Vello couldn't jump anymore
because of his surgeries, but it didn't stop him. I would lift him over
things to help him and he would track like nobodies business to help
me. Vello found the house and in fact went right to the door. The
suspect was taken into custody. This was his last track. Like every
handler, there are just some things you wont forget. I just thought I
would share it with you, it might give people a better insight of how
powerful the bond is between the two partners. Thank you for
listening. Let me know where you want the pictures and I'll get them
for you. By the way, I am very glad for Bill that he was able to do
that. I have thought about doing the same. Maybe someday I will. I
know if I do, Vello will jump right out and talk my ear off, like he
always did when we were on tracks. I'm finding out he still does.
Anyway, Ill talk to you soon. Mike
********
Baron in the next
day or
two. Baron and
Vello worked together and trained together all the time.
They were
backing us up or we were backing them up. They did a lot of Tag
team tracks
together. I will be sending a little info about him. One of
the pictures
I am sending will have Vello and Baron in it together. Baron
will be in
the left, black and tan and Vello will be on the right, he is the
sable. Ill
get back with you soon. (did
not receive further info or .jpg) |
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In Loving Memory of
K-9 VALCO
July 17, 2000
Handler: Officer
James Thomas
Indianapolis Police Department
901 North Post
Road
Indianapolis,
Indiana 46219
(317)
327-6696
K-9 Slain in
Drug Bust of 85-Year-Old -
Cops Say Friendly
Fire Claimed Life of Rookie Police Dog
By Seamus McGraw
INDIANAPOLIS (APBnews.com) -- Police are mourning the death of a canine
gunned down by a confused officer in a raid on the home of a suspected
85-year-old drug dealer, police said. Rookie police dog Valco, a Dutch
Shepherd, became the first police dog killed in action in the city's
history during a raid on the home of Charles Howard on Monday night,
Sgt. Paul Ciesielski said. "He got away from his handler, and one of
officers thought it was a strange dog coming at him," Ciesielski said.
"It's not the first time we've shot a strange animal, but it is the
first time since the canine unit was established in 1961 that a police
dog has died in the line of duty."A history of drug busts: It happened
at about 9 p.m. as plainclothes officers were preparing to serve Howard,
a senior citizen with a history of drug arrests dating back more than a
decade, with a warrant charging him with marijuana possession and
possession of drug paraphernalia, Ciesielski said. Police had decided to
bring Valco along for an extra measure of security, he said. "We often
use police dogs in drug arrests," Ciesielski said, both for their
commanding presence and because " if a suspect runs, a dog can chase him
better than we can." Dog breaks free , but Valco, who joined the
department's canine unit less than a year ago, broke free of his handler
at precisely the same moment officers were preparing to rush Howard's
door. One of the officers saw the dog running toward him, wrongly
believed that it was an attack dog sent by the suspect, and shot and
killed it, Ciesielski said. Howard gave up without a fight, Ciesielski
said. Bail information on the man was not immediately available. It was
not immediately clear what, if anything, the department planned to do to
honor the slain pooch. "That hasn't been decided yet," Ciesielski said.
"We feel that we ought to do something. Regardless of the circumstances,
he did die in the line of the duty."
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Memorials
to Fallen K-9s