Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1731
AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2009 67 I n Indiana, Hobart Police Offi cer Simon Gresser and his K-9 partner, seven-year- old Rommel, have taken home fi rst prize in a multi- state drug detection com- petition. Hobart Police Offi cer Simon Gresser and his canine partner Rommel, a 7-year-old German shepherd, took fi rst place in the 2009 Winter Canine Sniff-Off held on March 7th in Bedford, Indiana. Gresser said 22 canine teams from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky competed in the narcotics detection competition. Photo courtesy Northwest Indiana Times newspaper. The narcotics detection competition, held each year by the American Police Canine Association, was hosted this year by the Bed- ford Police Department. Twenty-two canine teams from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky competed in the event. The competition involved 15 narcotics searches in- cluding vehicles, buildings and scent cans. Scent cans are used to simulate items such as luggage and pack- ages. Offi cer Gresser said his goal was to make it to the top ten. When he won the top prize, he was thrilled. "I wasn't expecting it," Gresser told Deborah La- verty, a reporter with the Northwest Indiana Times newspaper. "With the weather being bad this winter, we've done more training inside and I guess that paid off." Gresser, a 10 year veteran with the Hobart police, serves as the team leader of the department's ca- nine program. Rommel has served with the department for more than fi ve years. Teams are scored on time and accuracy, with Gresser and his dog completing three phases in three min- utes, six seconds. That is why they call him "Champ" "In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi- human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." – Edward Hoagland Circle number 115 on the Reader Service Card.