Body armor donated to Montgomery police K9s
Eight Montgomery police K9s have received body armor from nonprofit Vested Interest in K9s, a charitable organization that donates bullet and stab protective vests to K9 units nationwide.
The Montgomery Police Department's eight dual purpose dogs Ares, Bravo, Niko, Kanon, Ace, Duval, Chico and Leo received one vest each as part of a $65,825 donation that saw 62 vests donated to law enforcement groups across the country.
MPD has seven other dogs that will not receive a vest: three bomb detectors and four that are used to sniff out narcotics. The eight dual purpose dogs are used for both finding narcotics and apprehending suspects. Because of those duties, they are most likely to encounter an armed assailant, according to MPD K9 supervisor Sgt. Jim Ezell.
"Those are the dogs that are going to be apprehending criminals," Ezell said.
Ezell recalled one incident a few years ago where a K9 named Bodi was stabbed in the eye after following a robbery suspect into a shed. Bodi lost the eye and currently lives in retirement. While a vest would not have saved Bodi's eye, Ezell pointed to that incident as an indicator of how dangerous a K9's job is.
"A vest would not have saved him, but a vest could save one in the future," said Ezell who also thanked both Vested Interest in K9s and the MPD for getting the vests. "If a suspect tries to shoot or stab the dog (in the body), this will protect them."
The donation actually came from a Marietta, Ohio, officer named Matt Hickey. After Hickey retired as a Marietta K9 officer earlier this year, he asked the city if he could keep his canine partner, Ajax, according to a local news report from WHIO.
Amid fears that Hickey would have to legally purchase Ajax at an open auction – where the former officer could potentially lose Ajax to a higher bidder –Hickey started a GoFundMe account to raise auction capital. However, after the city announced that Hickey could purchase Ajax for $1, the rest of the money was donated by Hickey to Vested Interest in K9s.
The vests are valued at anywhere between $1,795 and $2,234. With Vested Interest, each $1,050 donation equals one vest. Since the nonprofit's inception in 2009, Vested Interest in K9s has donated more than 1,900 vests in an effort to protect K9s as they protect communities.
All vests are custom-made by Armor Express in Central Lake, Michigan. The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.
The Montgomery police's vests have been ordered and are currently being made.
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