Westmoreland police dogs lauded in wake of Philly area's fugitive arrest

It’s dark, and Westmoreland County Park Police Officer Bill Meyers is looking for a suspect.

His police dog, Rico, can sense the right spot to find the person and end the search.

“The dog knows he’s there, but I don’t,” Meyers said.

Or if someone has rigged up a bomb and hidden it, Rico can let him know.

“I can’t smell it,” Meyers said.

The abilities of a police dog — speed, agility and nose work, among others — can complement a human officer’s capabilities. The benefits and advantages canines bring to law enforcement was evident last week when a U.S Customs and Border Patrol police dog made a high-profile arrest of an armed escaped murderer near Philadelphia. Police dogs in Westmoreland County routinely assist their human counterparts, whether by sniffing out a cache of drugs or tracking down a fleeing suspect.

Notably, state troopers were able to get a search warrant for an SUV they stopped on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant Township last year based on the response of a police dog. Troopers seized 26 pounds of cocaine worth $1 million as a result.

State police Lt. Col. George Bivens discussed during a news conference last week how police dogs can be assets in situations like the massive 13-day manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped a county jail while awaiting transfer to a state prison to serve a life sentence. Police dogs had helped throughout the search, and one with the state police is recovering from a heat-related illness.

“Safely capturing someone, far better that we’re able to release a patrol dog like this and have them subdue the individual than have to use lethal force,” Bivens said. “Our preference is always to use other means. Canines play a very important role.”

PA State Police K9 Loki, who suffered a heat-related illness during the search for escapee Danelo Cavalcante, was discharged from veterinary care today. Thank you to the veterinary staff for their care and the public for the well wishes on his recovery! pic.twitter.com/QlWb10vhPh

— PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) September 7, 2023

More than a dozen police dogs work at municipal departments in Westmoreland County, and there are others locally that are involved with county and state law enforcement agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office.

New Kensington police dog Atom, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, knows he’s on the job when handler Officer Joseph T. Naviglia III secures a work collar around his neck. Atom’s imposing presence will stop suspects in their tracks, Naviglia said.

“People love to fight and run,” he said. “However, when the K-9 shows up, that stops. Nobody wants to fight the police dog.”

Atom is certified in patrol and narcotics detection. But he’s a dog, too.

“He’s my partner and then, at home, he’s my best friend,” Naviglia said.

Many of the police dogs in Westmoreland County have worked with Bill Sombo, master trainer with the North American Police Work Dog Association, former handler and police chief in Elizabeth Borough. Sombo estimates he’s been involved with training a couple thousand police dogs since 1996. He can certify them in a variety of fields, including patrol, narcotics and electronics detection.

In recent years, he’s been working with kennels in Holland to select the best breed and dog based on a police department’s needs. Typically, Belgian Malinois or German shepherds, or a mix of the two, are enlisted as dual-purpose dogs, but he’s worked with plenty of other breeds, including Dutch shepherds and Rottweilers.

Suitable dogs typically will be social with a high drive, he said. It takes several weeks of training to become certified in a given field.

The benefits to having a police dog are numerous, Sombo said, though starting and maintaining a program can be costly and possibly out of reach for some departments. A dog typically runs about $7,000 to $8,000, and certification is several thousand more, and then there are the costs for a patrol unit outfitted to keep the animal safe, regular veterinarian visits and food.

“It’s a very, very good public relations tool. It’s an amazing deterrent,” Sombo said. “You’ll never know how many times you have deterred or stopped any type of police use of force based on the dog being all four paws on the ground.”

Handlers are required to complete monthly training and annual certifications. But their work goes beyond that: There are the regular bathroom breaks while on and off the job and fundraisers to keep their departments’ programs going because there isn’t usually extra money in the police budget.

Jeannette police Sgt. James Phillips has been successful with fundraising and, in 2021, used donations to buy a new SUV for his police dog. Donations to the program were put toward a used SUV this year for the department’s second canine.

New Kensington has three police dogs, and the department held a bingo fundraiser Saturday. Westmoreland Park Police have been raising money to expand the department’s program, adding a second dog, Elliott, and an SUV. The dogs also interact with the public in positive ways — Jeannette’s Kilo and Diesel participated in a city festival Saturday with their handlers.

Meyers has been a handler with park police for 12 years, first with Rex, a retired Belgian Malinois, and now Rico, a 2-year-old Malinois-German shepherd mix. Rico is certified in gun and explosive detection, as well as tracking and apprehension. He has helped police in Jeannette and Rostraver find guns, and he’s been involved with numerous investigations of bomb threats around the region, Meyers said.

“Their noses are incredible,” he said.

Meyers, Naviglia and Sombo were thrilled to learn that Yoda, a Belgian Malinois, was involved in the high-profile arrest last week. Cavalcante crawled through heavy brush in an effort to get away from police when Yoda was released. Yoda bit him on the head and the thigh, the Associated Press reported.

“For this dog to engage him while he was in the thick and heavy brush, … everything was textbook,” Sombo said.

Yoda did his job, Naviglia said.

“Dogs aren’t fear-based,” he said. “That dog didn’t know.”