April, 2012
Latest information for our Membership.........
The Gaston County, North Carolina Police Department is to be highly commended in providing a great week of K-9 training during the recent hosting of the A.P.C.A. Spring Seminar which was held the week of April 16-20 in Gastonia, North Carolina. Gaston Countys K-9 Unit, Sgt. Billy Downey, Robbie Waldrop III, Chuck Lawing, Matthew Harris , Chris Putnam and Allen Isenhour laid out the red carpet for this years attending members. Several teams and instructors throughout North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana and Florida attended this years seminar which addressed problem solving and conducted K-9 team certifications. On behalf of the association and each of its members, I wish to extend our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the Gaston County Police Department for the tremendous effort, planning and time which was involved in making this seminar a huge success!
A special thanks also to attending A.P.C.A. Master Trainers Denny Kunkel, Charles Kirchner, Robert Lewis, Mike Drake, Stafford Brister, Robert Anderson and Trainers Scott Adam, John Dunham Jr. and Chuck Lawing who provided an exceptional week of instruction at this years event. A big A.P.C.A. thanks to our many sponsors who donated several raffle products during the seminar. Special mention goes to Dianne D. Fulbright, Vice President of Midstate Mills Inc. who donated K-9 supplement products to each of our members.
Our association has two new additions to the A.P.C.A. instructor team. The associations Accreditation Board convened during the seminar and unanimously approved Master Trainer Accreditation of Robert C. Anderson, Palm Beach, Florida Police Department (Retired) in Patrol/Narcotics Patrol/Narcotics/Explosive Detection and Trainer Accreditation of Charles Chuck W. Lawing, Gaston County, North Carolina Police Department in Patrol/Narcotics Detection. Congratulations to each of these gentlemen. We look forward to working with both of you during our future association training events.
By majority vote, the membership selected Cleveland County, North Carolina Sheriffs Office as the hosting agency of the 2013 American Police Canine Association Spring Seminar. The membership in addition voted and approved the 2014 American Police Canine Association Spring Seminar to be hosted in Wilmington, North Carolina. Mark your calenders for these upcoming seminars and we hope to see you there.
Many of you often read our News Section in which officers submit cases involving narcotics and money seizures and suspect K-9 Apprehensions. Two outstanding narcotics forfeiture cases were just recently submitted from Crown Point, Indiana Police Department and Pineville, North Carolina Police Department. On March 31, 2012 Crown Point K-9 Unit, Corporal Jeff Eldridge & K-9 Buddy seized 1,200 pounds of marijuana which was detected by this team after being dispatched to sniff a refrigerated trailer. Officers located six concealed compartments beneath the trailers floor in which the marijuana was discovered compressed and sealed in tubes inside the compartments.
On April 16, 2012, Pineville, North Carolina K-9 Officer Todd Bradshaw and K-9 Rafa were requested by the vice unit to sniff a residence in which a search warrant had been issued for illicit drug activity. K-9 Rafa was raised into an attic space in which he located a suitcase that was concealed inside the attics floor insulation. The suitcase contained $200,000.00 in U.S. Currency. Great job to each of these teams for a job well done! For more information about these two cases, please see the News Section on this website.
In the month of March the association received four new applications for membership. The A.P.C.A. welcomes new members John A. Williams, Oconee County, North Carolina Sheriffs Office - James A. Fowler, Associate Member, Mechansville, Maryland - Michael A. McKay and Derek G. Gardner, Waterloo Regional Police Service, Ontario, Canada. We are glad to have each of you officers as part of our growing association.
Planning and preparation for the 2012 A.P.C.A. National Conference is underway and is the associations largest annual training event. This years conference will be held in Vincennes, Indiana September 24-28 2012 and hosted by the Knox County, Indiana Sheriffs Department. Registration Information for this event is now being posted on our website. Please be sure to register for this event. This events history has proven to be a top caliber training event that offers numerous training venue diversity and annual association certifications. We hope to see you this fall at the 2012 National Conference in Vincennes, Indiana!
For those interested applicants for Master Trainer / Trainer Accreditation, the American Police Canine Association will convene the 2012 Fall Accreditation Board on September 23, 2012 at the Holiday Inn Express, Vincennes, Indiana. Please submit your Accreditation packet no later than July 26, 2012 to the A.P.C.A. Accreditation C/O Chairman, Robert A. Lewis, 2772 S. 350 W., LaPorte, Indiana 46350. Accreditation applications per accreditation rules must be received no later than sixty (60) days prior to the convening of the Spring or Fall Accreditation Boards.
Until our next update, stay safe and keep training those dogs!
Sincerest Regards,
Mike Johnson, President
American Police Canine Association
