MP dog teams impress children

As part of Red Ribbon Drug Week, Fort Gordon's military police and working dogs visited A. Brian Merry Elementary School on Friday.

"In the world we live in, a lot of kids are in family situations where respect for authority is not there. Police are good people; they are here to help us," said guidance counselor Maggie Flavin, who arranged the visit.

The military police demonstrated how two German shepherds help in law enforcement.

Sgt. Drexel Pope placed a package of drugs in one of several suitcases on the playground. Then Sgt. Chanel Razack led her dog, Pindo, through the suitcases. Pindo sniffed around a couple of them before finding the right one. He scratched at the ground and then lay down next to the suitcase.

"Pindo uses his nose," Sgt. Pope explained to the children. "She practices with him lots of hours every day."

While Pindo is a drug dog, Piero, a 3-year-old German shepherd, has a different job. Piero is Sgt. William Cotner's partner and often helps in the apprehension of suspects.

With the assistance of Staff Sgt. Colin Harris, who played a suspected drug dealer, Sgt. Cotner demonstrated several scenarios.

Staff Sgt. Harris cooperated at first, but in later scenes he fled.

When Staff Sgt. Harris ran, Sgt. Cotner released Piero, who ran after Staff Sgt. Harris and attacked him. In another instance, Staff Sgt. Harris acted as though he was cooperating and then moved as though he was going to harm Sgt. Cotner.

"He is trained to attack with or without command," said Sgt. Cotner to Staff Sgt. Harris. "If you try to attack me, he will attack you. Do you understand?"

Staff Sgt. Harris, who wore padded, protective clothing, also showed the futility of trying to fight the dog.

"The more you punch or kick, the more they get mad and hurt you," Sgt. Pope told the children.

"This is his favorite game," said Sgt. Cotner. "That's why his tail is wagging. We don't want a mean dog. We want a smart dog who knows how to do his job."

After the demonstration, the police fielded questions about the dogs. Children wanted to know how the dogs could sniff out the drugs, how they were so strong and if they could be petted.

"They are attack-trained, so we can't let you pet them," said Sgt. Pope.

Reach Charmain Brackett at charmain.brackett@augustachronicle.com.