Riverside County Sheriff's Department Host 18th Annual K-9 Trials

Showcasing the effective training of the Riverside County Sheriff Department's K-9 division was the agenda of the 18th Annual K-9 Trials, held Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2 in Moreno Valley. Visitors filed into the Valley View High School campus beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday morning for the second day of the competition, this time opened to the public. Sergeant Anthony Williams, Riverside County Sheriff Department K-9 supervisor, explained the purpose of the event is to showcase the officer’s effective ability to train their K-9 counterpart. “[The purpose of the event is to] test the dogs and to share training with other departments,” Sgt. Williams said. “We have dogs from Canada, Mexico and of course dogs from the United States.” The competition was divided into different sections of events to highlight the dogs' abilities to successfully demonstrate their training. “It’s a big event; there are close to 60 dogs competing today,” Sgt. Williams said. “We're testing the dogs on their obedience, apprehension and searching ability”. Each of the officers was judged by their effective ability to give verbal and physical commands and the K-9's ability to obey and complete the commanded task. Dog handler teams each year compete in a two-day competition designed to test narcotic detection, evidence location, protection, agility and obedience, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K-9 Team website. The first day of competition is closed to only officers and their canines; the second day of competition is public and takes place during a public safety fair on site adjacent to the competition, where visitors can talk with local fire departments, the Riverside County Underwater Search and Recovery Team, Mounted Posse, Hazardous Device Team, Special Enforcement Bureau, and Aviation Team, who are onsite to provide demonstrations to the public while the K9 teams compete. Deputy Matt Schmidt was one of the many officers at the competition representing his department at the K-9 trials. Schmidt stated, “We go to a six week academy for the dog and myself and we learn many different commands." The academy is intended to train the officer as well as their service dog so that they may become familiar with one another. Deputy Schmidt also mentioned that they become solely responsible for their canine's care and that they become a part of their families. In the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's approximately 7,208 square mile jurisdiction, which ranges from San Bernardino County to San Diego County and from Orange County to the Arizona state line, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K-9 Team is made up of 23 deputies out of the department's 3,000 stationed across the county to provide safety to the over 2,189,641 Riverside County citizens. Currently, 17 dual-purpose K-9 teams are trained to apprehend criminals and detect hidden narcotics; the K-9 team also employs two Bloodhound tracking dogs, which help officers locate fleeing criminals, lost hikers and missing persons. The results of the competition released by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K-9 Team are as follows: Protection results, Top Dog: James Smith and K9 Nero, Oceanside Police Department. First place, overall, open category: Zach McWaters and K9 Nero, Ontario Police Department. First place, overall, novice category: Richard Fransik and K9 Whiskey, RSO Perris. First place, obedience: Joe Green and K9 Flak, Dos Palos Police Department. First place, agility: Trojo Cabrera and K9 Ciro, Policia Mexicali. First place, building search: Joe Maltese and K9 Smokey, Rialto Police Department. First place, protection: Justin Breen and K9 Kimo, Rialto Police Department. First place, area search: Heath Noyes and K9 Spike, RSO Jurupa Valley. First place, evidence search: Sean Lawlor and K9 King, Murrieta Police Department. Narcotic results, Top Dog: Trevor Cullen and K9 Argo, Orange Police Department. First place, overall, open category: Jeff Hurd and K9 Baron, RSO Hemet. First place, parcel search: Jason Santistevan and K9 Ozzi, RSO Moreno Valley. First place, vehicle search: Jason Santistevan and K9 Ozzi, RSO Moreno Valley. First place, area search, narcotics: Zach McWaters and K9 Nero, Ontario Police Department. [END] K9 Trials Date: Saturday, November 02, 2013 Time: 8:00 a.m. Google Map Event Location: Valley View High School Address: 13135 Nason St. Moreno Valley CA 92555 Description: Thru 4 p.m. CONTACT INFO Phone: Corporal Jeff Hurd, 909-217-7407 or Deputy Kevin Brooks, 760-458-4659 08/24/2013: We are now preparing for our 18th Annual Riverside County Sheriff's Association K9 Trials being held in the City of Moreno Valley on November 2nd and 3rd. If you are planning on attending the event, or would like more information, please download this flyer or visit our K9 Trials section. The public is also invited to our event on November 3rd. Information regarding the public safety fair can be obtained on our public flyer. The 18th Annual Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Trials Saturday’s patrol competition will be held at Valley View High School at 13135 Nason Ave. in the City of Moreno Valley. To Reach V.V.H.S., exit South on Perris Blvd. from the I60. Turn East on Eucalyptus Ave. to Nason St. Thank you for visiting the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team's website. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department encompasses approximately 7,208 square miles and ranges from San Bernardino County to San Diego County and from Orange County to the Arizona state line. The population of more than 2,189,641 citizens is protected by approximately 3,000 Sheriff's Deputies patrolling seventeen of the county's twenty-six cities. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team is made up from twenty-three deputies stationed across the county boasting a vast array of search and apprehension capabilities with a primary goal to combat crime and keep citizens and law enforcement officers safe. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department currently has seventeen dual-purpose K9 teams trained to apprehend dangerous criminals and detect hidden narcotics. These dual-purpose teams cover the areas of Hemet, Jurupa, Lake Elsinore, Cabazon, Perris, Indio, Blythe, and the contract cities of Temecula, Moreno Valley, San Jacinto, and Palm Desert. The dogs of this team are currently composed of two breeds: Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds. These teams patrol their assigned areas and work together to ensure the safety of the public and other law enforcement officers by apprehending suspects who are potentially too dangerous to apprehend without incurring significant injury. These teams also work together to locate hidden narcotics with the use of the Patrol Service Dog's incredible inherent ability of smell. These teams are essential to patrol operations and will ultimately save approximately 1,000 man hours per team per year for the department and tax payers. Our K9 team also employs the use of two Bloodhound tracking dogs. Riverside County Sheriff's Department’s Bloodhound handlers are well known throughout California and are frequently utilized by many other Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the state to locate fleeing felons, lost hikers, and missing juveniles. Bloodhound handlers and their canine partners are absolutely irreplaceable due to the lives they save on a regular basis. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department also has a fully operational Hazardous Device Team with two explosive detection Patrol Service Dogs. These dogs are used to detect and locate chemical compounds used as explosives to help the Hazardous Device Team locate potential terrorists and criminals in possession of dangerous weapons. The contract city of Moreno Valley fields a Patrol Service Dog and handler as a part of their Special Enforcement Team. This dog is a dual purpose Patrol Service Dog, and along with his undercover partner, he assists the Special Enforcement Team in Moreno Valley with their constant battle with illegal narcotics. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has also recently started two Correctional K9 positions out of the Larry Smith Correctional Facility. The Correctional K9 and her handler have been very successful in the jails located throughout Riverside County in locating illegal narcotics, cell phones, tobacco, and jail-made intoxicants inside of the jail facilities. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team has also initiated a non-profit organization in the form of the Riverside Sheriff's Association K9 fund. This non-profit organization is funded by community partners, and helps with the logistical support of the dog program as well as assistance for our retired K9 partners. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team has been overwhelmed by the support of our local community partners, and we extend our most heartfelt thanks to those men and women who assist us in our service. If you would like to become one of our sponsors, or would like to donate to our K9 program, feel free to contact your local K9 handler (listed on our contact page) or email us at Donations@Riversidesheriffk9team.com. If you would like to know more about individual K9 teams that are a part of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team, feel free to view the handler's individual page from the Team Members section of our website. Thank you again for visiting, The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Day 2 of the 18th annual Riverside County Sheriff's Department K-9 Trials were held Saturday, Nov. 2nd at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. The competition took place around 8 O’clock in the morning and lasted to around 4 O’clock in the afternoon. The event was free and open to the public. The purpose of the event was to showcase the effective training of the different k-9 police departments in not only in the United States but in other countries as well. Many of the competitors at the K-9 trials traveled in from all over Riverside County, California, Canada and Mexico, to compete in the annual competition. Sgt. Anthony Williams, who acts as the Riverside County K-9 supervisors, believed that the purpose of this event was to showcase the officer’s effective ability to train their k-9. “[The purpose of the event is to] test the dogs and to share training with other departments,” Sgt. Williams said. “We have dogs from Canada, Mexico and of course dogs from the United States.” The competition was divided into different sections of events to showcase the k-9's ability to successfully demonstrate their training. “It’s a big event, there are close to 60 dogs competing today,” Sgt. William said. ““The purpose of the event is to test the dogs on their obedience, apprehension and searching ability”. Each of the officers was judge by their effective ability to give verbal and physical commands and the k-9's ability to obey and complete the commanded task. Deputy Matt Schmidt was one of the many officers at the competition, who was representing his department at the K-9 trials. Schmidt stated that, “we go to a six week academy for the dog and myself and we learn so many different commands”. The academy is intended to train the officer as well as, their k-9 so that, they may become familiar with one another. Deputy Schmidt also mentioned that they become solely responsible for their k-9's care and that they become a part of their families. There were also many different agencies’ setups throughout the event which included, The Special Enforcement Bureau, Hazardous Device Team, the Riverside County Underwater Search and Recovery Team, Mounted Posse, Moreno Valley Volunteers and the Aviation Team and various vendors all attended the k-9 trials.