K-9 Unit
The K-9 Unit of the Sioux Falls Police Department is a specialized unit within the Traffic Section which is responsible for taking part in everyday police patrol operations. The four police service dog teams are routinely asked to assist patrol officers in a variety of settings. These teams are trained in both criminal apprehension as well as detection work.
Aside from the handlers’ “street” duties, they are also responsible for the maintenance training of their respective K-9 partners. This assures the K-9 teams are performing at an optimum level on a consistent basis. Weekly training sessions occur in a variety of settings in and around the Sioux Falls area to provide the teams with realistic street-like conditions. The Sioux Falls Police Department’s K-9 Unit also conducts State Recertification and holds weekly interagency training sessions for K-9 teams all over the region.
The Sioux Falls Police Department has an ongoing commitment to assist other law enforcement agencies at local, state, and federal levels. K-9 teams are commonly called in to assist these agencies in their investigations. This working relationship between the K-9 Unit and other agencies provides for a more thorough investigation, resulting in successful case prosecutions.
In the fall of 2008, the department hosted an eight week Patrol Dog course which allowed K-9 teams from both the Yankton Police Department and the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office to join in the training program. Training concepts and philosophies were passed on to these teams allowing them to become certified in the State of South Dakota as K-9 Patrol Teams. These teams learned the procedures of tracking suspects, building searching, as well as general criminal apprehension techniques.
In August of 2008, the K-9 Unit lost one of its original police dogs to cancer at the age of ten. Niko, a Belgian Malinois that came from Germany, passed away just one month short of his projected retirement. Niko started his long and successful career with the SFPD in March of 1999. Niko was handled by K-9 Sergeant Jon Lohr. During his years with the department, Niko was responsible for initiating countless drug investigations leading to the arrests of many drug offenders. He was also responsible for the apprehension of numerous suspects both physically and through the perceived use of force. Niko will be sorely missed as most all officers in the department worked with or around Niko at some point during their careers.
The loss of Niko created the need for another dog in the unit. K-9 Andor joined the Sioux Falls Police Department in August of 2008 after being selected from a vendor in Alabama. Andor is a two-year-old Belgian Malinois that originally came to the United States from Holland. He and Sergeant Lohr successfully completed their patrol training in the fall of 2008. Andor will also be trained in drug detection in early 2009. He is a very social but hard-working dog that appears to be well on his way to replacing Niko.
The K-9 Teams of the Sioux Falls Police Department are:
- Sergeant Jon Lohr and K-9 “Andor”
- Officer John Matthews and K-9 “Taro”
- Officer Shannon Irish and K-9 “Rekso”
- Officer Paul Smedsrud and K-9 “Deuce”
K-9 Unit 2008 Statistics:
- Vehicle Drug Searches: 398
- Building/Structure Drug Searches: 30
- Package Drug Searches: 164
- School Locker Drug Searches: 9085
- School Vehicle Drug Searches: 732
- Storage Unit Drug Searches: 5
- Building/Structure Suspect Searches: 38
- Suspect Areas Searches/Tracks: 48
- Suspect Apprehensions: 2
- Force Threat Apprehensions: 32
- Public Demonstrations/Presentations: 39
