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Concord police seek grant to restart patrol K-9 program after two-decade gap
Summary
The Concord Police Department presented a plan to reestablish a patrol K-9 unit and asked the City Council to authorize an application for a Stanton Foundation grant covering startup and training costs; the request was placed on the consent agenda and advanced for approval.
Chief Osgood presented a proposal to restart Concord’s patrol K-9 program, which he said last existed in 2005. The proposal asks the council to authorize city staff to apply for a Stanton Foundation grant to pay initial startup and training costs for a new dog-and-handler team.
The program team said a patrol K-9 would perform criminal tracking, drug detection, building searches, missing-person searches and provide a less-lethal option during certain arrests. Officer Matt LeBlanc said the dog’s roles would also include community engagement: “Alongside of the criminal aspect, though, we also have the positive impact on the community, reaching out to kids and and younger age groups and and everyone in the city of showing the capabilities of the dog.”
Deputy Chief Smigula and Officer LeBlanc outlined local call data they reviewed to justify the program. LeBlanc summarized recent…
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