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The City of Temecula Police Department employs two highly skilled K9 teams. The greatest value of these K-9 teams lies in the ability of each dog’s keen sense of sight, smell, and hearing which aid in the search of drugs, persons, and buildings. In addition, the K-9 teams provide a positive public image of the Department’s expertise and efficiency. They can be seen patrolling throughout the City and at various special events, serving as both a deterrent to crime and as ambassadors for the Department. The Police Department K-9s are trained in obedience, agility, evidence searches, building searches, and apprehension work. The two K9 teams include:
Corporal Staat and Astin:
Corporal Chad Staat started working as a K9 handler in the City of Temecula in June 2010 and has been with the City since 2007. Corporal Staat has been with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for ten years, working for Court Services and serving the Lake Elsinore Police contract. He has been assigned to patrol, boat patrol, and motorcycle traffic enforcement. Prior to going joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, he served as a Reserve Deputy in Temecula for four years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Cal Baptist University.
In February of 2011, Corporal Staat chose a two-year-old German Shepherd named "Astin" as his partner. Astin was born and trained in Europe and receives all commands in Czech. Astin and Corporal Staat went through 12 weeks of intensive training, where they bonded as a team and learned to search for evidence, narcotics, and suspects. Astin and Corporal Staat competed in their first K9 trials in 2011 and placed 4th overall in searching for narcotics. We have high hopes for Astin, and he and Corporal Staat look forward to serving the citizens of Temecula for many years to come.
Deputy Cramer and Rudy:
Deputy Matthew Cramer has been with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for six years and has worked at the Perris and Cabazon Stations. While working for the Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Cramer has had the opportunity to patrol in the communities of Perris, Canyon Lake, Menifee, Nuevo, Homeland, Mead Valley, and Cabazon.
Deputy Cramer is currently assigned as a K9 Handler in Temecula with his partner, “Rudy”. Rudy is a five year old Belgian Malinois from Holland. Rudy is trained to detect hidden narcotics, to locate hidden articles of evidence, to apprehend dangerous suspects, and to track and locate fleeing and hidden suspects. Deputy Cramer and Rudy have been patrolling in the City of Temecula since November of 2010 and have successfully located and apprehended dozens of fleeing felons. Rudy has also located narcotics leading to the arrests of approximately forty suspects. Rudy has received a 2nd place and a 3rd place award for evidence location in the Riverside County 15th and 16th Annual Police K9 Trials. Deputy Cramer and Rudy are proud to work in the City of Temecula and strive every night to keep the city and their partners safe from those who would cause them harm.
Our K9 teams are invaluable in the fight against narcotics and for apprehending suspects while reducing the risk of injury to other officers.
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On January 25, 2007, the City of Temecula and the Temecula Police Department announced the retirement of K-9 “KAOS,” a nine year-old Czech Shepherd. Kaos’ services were a very instrumental part of the success in the apprehension of suspects and the detection of contraband during his five plus years of service to the City of Temecula. Corporal Harry Cohen and his partner Kaos have been with the Temecula Police Department since December 2001. Kaos will officially retire on April 6, 2007.
Although his service was cut short due to medical problems, Kaos’ accomplishments were unprecedented. Kaos worked an average of 60 to 70 hours a week. He was instrumental in locating and seizing over $35 Million dollars worth of drugs and alerting on over $92,000 worth of drug related cash. He responded to over 480 burglary and robbery alarm calls. Kaos assisted with the apprehension of 322 suspects, ensuring the safety of his fellow officers and maintained scene containment on 54 crime scenes. During Kaos’ service he participated in a number of K-9 Trials winning numerous awards at including the Top Dog Award at the 2005 Sheriff K9 Trials & Public Safety Expo. During the 2006 Western States Police and Fire Games, Corporal Harry Cohen and “Kaos” achieved unprecedented success winning top honors as “Top Dog”: Kaos won medals in all the major categories:
Patrol
Overall Top Dog – Gold Medal
Area Search – Gold Medal
Protection – Gold Medal
Agility – Silver Medal
Narcotics Detection
Overall Narcotics Dog – Silver Medal
Narcotics Vehicle Search – Silver Medal
Building Search – Bronze Medal
Most recently he participated in the 2006 Sheriff K-9 Trials & Public Safety Expo and received several awards and honors.
Kaos’ retirement is a loss to the City of Temecula and to the Police Department. Kaos’ friendly disposition when not on-duty made him a great ambassador for the Police Department at park and facility openings, safety fairs, and local schools and community organizations promoting awareness of narcotics abuse and crime prevention.
Corporal Cohen’s new partner will have some big paws to fill, as Kaos set a high standard for any future K-9 Police Service Dog.
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