STEVENSVILLE More than 200 people watched from the stands at Andy Schipul Stadium in Stevensville as a man in a bright red button-down shirt ran up behind a lady pushing a shopping cart slowly down the track just before sunset on June 22. The man grabbed a bag from the cart and fled across the field. A brown German Shepherd sprinted in pursuit, caught the purse-snatcher and pinned him to the field.
"This is just a demonstration. The dogs are sent against felons, real bad guys, not drunks and minor offenders," announced North American Police Work Dog Association Master Trainer Jerry Purcell of Penn Hills, Pa., Police Department.
The "lady" was Cpl. Scott Allen wearing a dress and his assailant was played by Cpl. Bob Heverly, both of the Prince George's County Police Department. The hero was K-9 Boom from an out-of-town unit.
They and 97 other K-9 teams from across the United States and Canada assembled at Kent Island High School to demonstrate the dogs' skills in tracking, searching, catching and detaining in a variety of situations.
The dogs found narcotics and explosives in suitcases and automobiles, small pieces of evidence in the large field and accelerants in multiple containers. They tracked, chased and detained criminals amidst gunfire.
"They perform the jobs quickly and safely," said Purcell, emcee for the evening.
The grand finale was a spectacle, better than any drama on television. A green pickup truck sped onto the track, pursued by a pair of police cars. Dogs were deployed from the police cars as two suspects fled the cab of the truck. The dogs quickly chased down the bad guys and pinned them to the field, waiting for further instructions from their handlers. Meanwhile, Trooper 6, a Dauphin helicopter from the Maryland State Police, landed on the field and a third dog, Queen Anne's County's own K-9 Nero handled by Dfc. Zach House, charged off the craft in pursuit of a third suspect hiding in the bed of the truck.
All three bad guys were easily tagged by the dogs who had never worked together before, according to Purcell.
All 101 K-9 teams were in town for the 33rd annual NAPWDA workshop. It was hosted by the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office and the Eastern Shore Police K9 Association.
The weeklong workshop covered training techniques plus utility and specialty tactical techniques and ended with the demonstration on June 22.
Most of the dogs were German shepherds although there was also a Dutch shepherd, a Labrador retriever and a border collie. K-9 Nero from QA Sheriff's Office is a Belgian malinois.
Cpl. Mark Carr of the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office, event coordinator, said a good K-9 candidate is loyal, intelligent, aggressive and has a keen sense of smell, all traits of most German shepherds. He said it takes 10 to 16 weeks to train a dog.
There are currently four K-9 teams in Queen Anne's County, down from seven last year.
