'I feel that Maverick will help connect members of our department with the community,' King said. King said public appearances are a big part of the K-9 program, and the community will react well to interacting with Maverick. 'A police K-9 is a great way to make that happen.' 'Now more than ever, it's extremely important that police officers make every effort to connect with the citizens in their community,' he added. It's a great way for our officers to build relationships with kids. In the past, our dogs regularly participated in K-9 demonstrations and went into the classrooms to meet students. 'The police K-9 is a goodwill ambassador to the police department. 'Public relations is a huge part of a successful K-9 program in Mayfield Heights,' Mele said. While the addition of Maverick will help the department in several important areas of police work, he will be almost as valuable in the community, according to both Mele and King. Like any tool on our duty belt, the officer must have complete control of the K-9, which requires a great deal of training. 'They come from blood lines that have the desired drives that we look for in a working dog. 'These dogs are highly trained and very intelligent,' Mele said. We retired two dogs back in 2014 and neither was replaced at that time.' It's been nine years since our department had a working dog. I'm hoping to build the program out in the upcoming years. 'K-9 Maverick is currently our only police K-9. I was a K-9 handler for eight years with the department, so I know first-hand what a valuable tool they are,' Mele said. 'Mayfield Heights PD has had a few police work dogs dating back to the 1970s. Maverick will be officially sworn in at the Mayfield Heights City Council meeting on May 8. The K-9 handler will be Patrolman Mike King. He comes from the Czech Republic and was trained at Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania. The new K-9 is a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois named Maverick.

It is a major reason why Mele is so pleased that the department is adding a K-9 unit for the first time since 2014. May 5-As a longtime K-9 handler, Mayfield Heights Police Chief Anthony Mele recognizes the impact working police dogs can have on a department.

Fall of the Citizens by Eric Thomas