Crime & Safety
Point Beach Borough Council Approves The Addition Of A K-9 Officer To Police Force
K-9 officer will patrol the boardwalk during summer, police say.
POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — Point Pleasant Beach police will soon have another officer to add to the roster this summer - one that barks.
Borough Council members approved the addition of a K-9 officer to the police department at a recent meeting to police department ranks. The dog will be on patrol during a number of summer events, summer events, according to the Ocean Star.
Borough and police officials began discussing adding a police dog after a bomb was exploded in a trash can during a military themed 5k race in Seaside Park last summer.
"There certainly is a need to have (the dog) within our infrastructure," said Lt. Joseph Michigan during a recent Borough Council meeting. "I want to be able to call a Point Pleasant Beach police office that is trained and has the bomb dog immediately. I don't want to have to rely on (another agency."
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The dog would be donated along with training, he said.
The lieutenant said the borough can also expect to receive a $35,000 grant toward the purchase of a vehicle equipped for a bomb-sniffing dog.
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“Right after Seaside Park, the N.J.. Office of Homeland Security [and Preparedness], through the Ocean County Chiefs of Police [Association] was given money to give out to municipalities,” Lt. Michigan said.
The department should have its bomb sniffing dog within the next few weeks.
Last September, the department had to call on other law enforcement agencies to bring in bomb-sniffing dogs to comb the downtown area during the Festival of the Sea, which was cut short due to the bombing in Seaside Park and a bomb threat involving borough hall.
“At least we have control over our own guy and he’s working three to four shifts per week in town during the summer,” Chief Kevin O’Hara said at the meeting. We essentially have a special event every day from mid-May to mid-September. It's called our boardwalk."
The dog is expected to cost the department $1,500 a year for food as well as veterinary care.
Dogs trained for this purpose are usually one-and-a-half years old with some training. Michigan's first choice would be a German shepherd.
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Image: Patricia A. Miller
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