
Here is just ONE of the many, many BEAUTIFUL pictures from the 2009 MotorCop calendar.
If you didn't get it, you're missing out!
I don't know who he is, but he's hott, yes?
"Ringo" and his human partner, Anderson County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Coley, have been fighting crime together for almost 10 years.
But for Coley, "Ringo" is much more than an assistant.
"When you get these dogs you develop a bond. These dogs go to work with us every day, they ride in the car with us just like you would a human partner. You get very attached," Coley said.
So when he switched from the Clinton Police Department to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, he wanted to bring "Ringo" with him.
"We've been together a long time. He's part of my family," Coley said.
That meant finding $3,000 to pay for him.
One day while Coley and "Ringo" were patrolling Anderson County High School, a few students came to the rescue.
"These kids over the years have come to know me and him. Some of the kids came and said, 'Hey, want to help'," Coley said.
They came up with a creative idea.
If students could raise $1500, the K-9 unit would do a demonstration, ending with their principal in a bite suit.
"The kids know the officers, the kids know the dogs. The Sheriff's Office and the Clinton City Police Department have been excellent resources for us. We do everything we can on this end to keep that relationship going," said Anderson County High School's Principal Greg Deal.
Now the Sheriff's Office is one K-9 stronger.
"The dog saves us a lot of man errors and money," said Anderson County Sheriff Paul White.
And Coley still gets a little choked up when he thinks of what the students did.
"These kids are keeping me together with my partner," he said.
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office now has 3 officers on it's K-9 unit.
Some local K-9 unit police officers and and a sheriff's deputy teamed up for a big weight loss challenge. Thursday, they found out their hard work has earned them a $10,000 prize in the Body for Life fitness challenge.
The metro area K-9 handlers thought they were meeting up at the La Vista Police Department for a conference call. Instead, representatives from the fitness program they’ve been following surprised them with the check.
“Congratulations,” one representative announced, “You are the large group 2009 Grandmaster Body for Life champions.”
“It’s awesome. It’s awesome,” said Bellevue police officer Chad Heller.
The big money is a reward for losing big weight. Combined, the eight participants lost nearly 230 pounds and nearly 49 percent body fat.
"We like to think that equates to getting one bad guy off the streets," joked LaVista police officer John York, who spearheaded the effort last January. Officers had various reasons for signing on.
"K-9 training and the handling of the dogs can be a vigorous job, so we wanted to improve ourselves in that regard," said York.
Fellow La Vista police officer John Danderand said, "I was tired of trying to compete with the young guys and running behind them all the time."
Bellevue police officer Dustin Franks said his motivation came from one moment on the job. "For the first time ever, I was outrun by a suspect and I think that's when, you know, I had to draw the line."
For Bellevue police officer Chad Heller, it was something his then pregnant wife said to him. "She said that she hoped her stomach didn't get as big as mine. So that was a little bit of motivation."
The baby, Ella, is now 7 months old. Heller says he’s more capable of keeping up with her after losing 32 pounds in the challenge. He’s kept most of it off.
Heller’s wife, Sue, said the transformation has been huge. “He looks awesome, he looks awesome.”
"It was good to see him conscious of what he was eating. He gave up pop, that was a big deal, and, to have him working out, it’s great."
The officers worked out at least five days a week during the challenge. While some admit they’ve slowed down, they’ve all remained fit.
"I'm not tired all the time,” Heller said. “I don't feel like just lying around on my days off."
More productive off the job and better at their jobs, the men say their benefits go well beyond a cash reward.
The K-9 handlers had some good local role models, prodding them along in their success. Members of the Papillion Police Department won the same Body for Life group challenge in 2006.
For more information on the Body for Life program including recipes used by the K-9 team, Click here
Sheriff’s deputies say a woman called in a fake report of a convenience store robbery, presumably to get a deputy who was chasing her and a wanted man, to break off the pursuit.
King County Sheriff’s Spokesman John Urquhart says the deputy pulled over a pickup for a possible DUI late Monday night in Covington. As the deputy walked up to the truck, the man behind the wheel drove away with the female passenger. The deputy was sprayed with rocks and dirt.The ensuing chase lasted eight minutes and reached speeds up to 70 mph.
During the chase, deputies say the woman called 911 and tried to report an armed robbery at a Circle K convenience store on Kent Kangley Road.
“There’s two kids inside the store,” the woman is heard saying on the 911 recording. “They’re under five-years-old and they’re inside the store. And the guy’s got a gun … ”
The 911 operator, for whatever reason, was not fooled.
The deputy eventually used what is called a PIT maneuver to force the truck off the road. The driver lost control and hit a power pole.
Both people were arrested with minor injures.
The 44-year-old driver from Bonney Lake was arrested and later identified as a wanted escapee from community custody.
The 35-year-old Puyallup woman who allegedly made the call was booked on charges of False Reporting and Rendering Criminal Assistance.
The Gaston Gazette reported that the Gaston County officers all showed up for work Monday after the Saturday drawing gave them each $136,000 after taxes.
Deputy Fay Costner says she and her colleagues came to work after their big win because they are professionals and are dedicated to their community.
Costner says the deputies have to work Tuesday but plan to go to Raleigh on Wednesday to get their winnings.
The five deputies contribute $20 every five weeks to buy tickets.
It was the second $1 million win in Gaston County in less than a month. A ticket sold Dec. 31 also won $1 million.