New K-9 to aid with narcotics investigations

Members of the Gluckstadt Police Department are excited and looking forward to having their first police dog to help with narcotics investigations. 

Assistant Police Chief Barry Hale said the new police dog will be a Belgian Malinois, a common breed used by law enforcement. 

“We will be getting the dog from Alpha Canine, which has locations in Jackson and Nashville, in around 45 days,” Hale said. “Chief Watts hasn’t decided on the handler yet, but when he does, the dog and handler will be trained together.” 

The Gluckstadt-Madison Business Alliance donated $6,000 to GPD in June to help the department purchase the canine, and Hale said GPD received even more donations after that, totaling around $11,000. 

Alderman approved a $12,000 quote to purchase the canine during their July 11 meeting. 

“We’re thankful to the Business Alliance for donating, along with other groups that have helped us as well,” Hale said. “This has been in the chief’s plans for the department for a long time now. It’s always been his plan, but we needed to come up with the money first. He used to be a canine handler himself for the city of Jackson.” 

Hale said the canine will be used simply for narcotics investigations. 

“Some people have multi-use dogs, but ours will be strictly used for narcotics,” he said. “We’ve been a department for a little over a year, so getting our first canine is a big deal for us. We’re very excited and looking forward to future narcotics investigations.”