The newest Wichita Falls police officer Turko, the drug dog, started work today. He was purchased by the Wichita Falls Police Department with funds seized from narcotics dealers in drug busts.
It is one of the great ironies of the War on Drugs that narcotics dealers’ funds which are forfeited in drug arrests are often used to purchase drug dogs who have repeatedly proven invaluable over the years working for Wichita Falls law enforcement.
http://liarcatchers.com/drugdogsweeps.html
Wichita Falls police officer Aaron New is Turko’s partner. Turko, a Belgian Malinois, is from Guadalajara, Mexico.
Turko is the latest in a long line of drug detection dogs which have served Wichita Falls in the never-ending fight against drug traffickers.
Kimbo, another Belgian Malinois, began his career on October 1, 2009, working with Wichita County Deputy Sheriff Josh Brown. Kimbo was 13 months old when he began his career alongside Deputy Brown.
Brown came to Wichita County from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in January of 2009. He brought his K-9 partner Clif with him. When Clif tragically died he was replaced by Kimbo. Kimbo is now a part of the Brown family and he is loved very much.
Kimbo started his illustrious career with the Wichita County Sheriff’s Office fast on October 22, 2009 when he gave his partner Deputy Brown the signal he needed to search a car early that morning. Brown stopped a blue 1997 Mercury on Highway 79 at Goodman Road in the early morning hours when it failed to remain in one lane.
After the two men in the car refused consent to search, Kimbo and Brown circled the car in what Sheriff David Duke called a “free air search.”
Kimbo’s response indicated the presence of drugs in the car. The dog’s action created probable cause to search the automobile. The ensuing search revealed a digital scale, plastic bags with residue, lithium batteries three plastic buckets and other items commonly used in manufacutring illegal drugs.
At the time Sheriff Duke said the case was Kimbo’s first drug lab bust in Wichita County. The sheriff also thanked the Wichita County District Attorney’s Office for making a donation toward the funding of the K-9 program.
Operation Powder Burn, orchestrated by District Attorney Maureen Shelton in 2011, resulted in the largest drug bust in 30 years in Wichita Falls and the seizure of countless funds used by drug traffickers. Anyone wishing to report illegal drug activity should call the District Attorney’s Office at 940-766-8113. Assistant District Attorney Dobie Kosub has successfully prosecuted most of those drug cases.
Turko is the first passive response drug dog in the history of Wichita Falls law enforcement, according to a report by TV news reporter Melissa Foy. This means that he reacts to the presence of drugs by sitting. Previous drug detection dogs were all aggressive meaning they would scratch on items which contained drugs.
Turko will be the second drug dog with which the experienced Officer New has partnered in Wichita Falls.
Turko is trained to detect marihuana, methamphetamines, heroin and cocaine.
The 17-month old is like family to Officer New who said the dog is also trained in apprehension and tracking.
