Villa Park rookie cop has nose for crime
Criminals might be able to elude some police officers for a while, but Villa Park's youngest rookie has a nose for finding people and more.
Officer Inoe, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois from the Netherlands, has been busy sniffing out criminals in Villa Park and around DuPage County with partner officer Bryan Hruby.
In his first 10 months on the job, Inoe has helped seize more than $70,000 in alleged drug proceeds, assisted in an apartment complex fire involving an individual with a gun, located someone hiding in bushes after a DUI stop in Lombard, found a substantial amount of marijuana while executing a search warrant and located "substantial" amounts of heroin and marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia, in a vehicle during a roadside safety check in Villa Park, Hruby said. The latter resulted in a felony arrest for possession.
Inoe also assisted with 75 "drug sniffs," 42 assists to other agencies, 20 scent tracks, 12 building searches, seven school searches and executions of six search warrants.
He even sniffed out numerous drug smoking pipes and burglary proceeds hidden in a locked safe at an apartment complex, Hruby said.
His and Hruby's work led to felony arrests involving drug contraband and the recovery of "substantial amounts of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia," police report.
"The numbers grow every day," Hruby said.
Inoe has accomplished all this while also fulfilling various assignments for demonstrations and educational programs.
"It adds another tool to our toolbox," Hruby said.
The department had a canine unit for many years, but it was halted several years ago when the last handler was promoted and the aging dog retired.
After hearing about a shortage of police dogs in the area, Trustee John Davis suggested the department consider reviving the program and sought out state funding. The restoration of the unit was made possible in large part by a $15,000 state grant secured with help from state Rep. Sandra Pihos.
"I'm happy to be a small part of this," Pihos said. "It's through this partnership ... that this whole community will move forward."
The start-up costs of the canine unit are about $45,500, with the bulk of that being funded by police with drug seizure money, Chief John Payne said.
The department went with the Belgian Malinois, a relative of the German shepherd, on the recommendation of Northern Michigan K-9 Inc., where Inoe was purchased. The department also got feedback from the Elmhurst Police Department, which has a Malinois, Payne said.
The breed is hardworking and hardy like the German shepherds but with less potential for hip problems, Payne said.
"He is active with high energy," Payne said. "If the handler says, 'Let's go do something,' he's raring to go. This dog is phenomenal. It's working out very well for us."