In Wake of Growing Drug Problem, SPPD to Add K-9 Unit
By Brandi Makuski
The Stevens Point police force will soon grow by one.
In an effort to address illegal drug trade in the city — something Chief Martin Skibba referred to as “an increasingly growing problem” — the department is preparing to expand its footprint by adding its first-ever K-9 Unit.
The dept. has been mulling the addition for some time, according to Assistant Chief Mike Rottier, but it wasn’t officially considered an option until an enterprising group of officers compiled enough information for a formal presentation to the Police and Fire Commission. Officers Jeremiah Ballew, Justin Klein, and Austin Lee, along with Sgt. Bob Kussow conducted the research on their personal time, Rottier said, over a period of several months.
“Over the last few years we’ve noticed an increase in the abuse of fentanyl, and meth and heroin across the country: we haven’t escaped that,” Rottier said, adding the addition of a dual-purpose K-9 was necessary because “we are the caretakers of this community.”
The increase in drug activity is such a concern, Rottier said, that the department also recently purchased Narcan — an antidote for opioid overdose — for the first time.
“The increase is so much so that in the past two weeks, our department made that purchase to protect not only ourselves from any exposure, but those who might be experiencing an overdose,” he said.
Currently, the SPPD relies on K-9 units from the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office and Plover Police Dept., but those units are not always available, Ballew said, and the dept. believes some drug traffickers specifically choose Sevens Point because it doesn’t currently have a K-9 Unit.
“Portage County and Plover help us when they can, but it’s a resource already tapped thin on their end,” Ballew said. “We don’t have anything dedicated to Stevens Point.”
In the past three months alone, about 30 incidents were identified during which Stevens Point police could have used a K-9, but none were available locally.
One incident in particular involved the late-night July shooting at the now-defunct Rockies Bar in Downtown Stevens Point. While that investigation remains plagued with uncooperative witnesses, Ballew said a handgun involved in the incident took about seven hours to locate.
“A [K-9] dog would have found it within 30, 45 minutes,” he said. “If that shooting would have happened during the day, it could have been picked up by some kid — it was found right behind the library.”
Along with tracking evidence related to drug and gun crimes, he said, the dog would also track people.
“I believe we owe it the community to have this tool to help stop the transportation of illegal drugs, and to help us in other investigations,” Ballew said. “This dog would also help track people; suspects, and help us find somebody who is lost.”
The program would be self-sustaining, paid for initially with donations from the community, then sustained by drug forfeitures — forfeitures currently granted to K-9 units from whichever department responds to help the city.
“It would be great if our job was just quality-of-life calls,” Skibba said, “but you need the proper amount of staff, and a K-9 would be very helpful in that regard.”
The dept. will work with Von Liche Kennels in Indiana to acquire the dog at a cost of about $17,000; retrofitting an existing squad unit into a K-9 vehicle would cost an additional $6,000. Skibba said the department’s fundraising efforts would be announced in the near future.
“We won’t tolerate illegal drugs in our community,” Ballew said. “The presence of a K-9 in the public will help the deter those criminals.”