After demonstrating some narcotics detection techniques Misha, Winlock police department's drug-sniffing 4 1/2-year-old belgian malinois, takes a break with her ball in a park in downtown Winlock on Thursday afternoon.
Winlock police officer Steve Miller pets Misha, the department's dog trained in narcotics detection, on Thursday at the Winlock city hall.
Winlock police officer Steve Miller shares a moment with Misha, the department's 4 1/2-year-old belgian malinois trained in narcotics detection, at Winlock city hall on Thursday afternoon.
Winlock police officer Steve Miller displays a baggie of confiscated methamphetamine in his left hand and a baggie of marijuana in his right hand prior to hiding them in a park for the department's drug-sniffing dog to find on Thursday in Winlock. Misha, a 4 1/2-year-old belgian malinois, found both baggies within minutes of beginning its narcotic detection techniques.
An anti-marijuana sticker is posted on the glass door of the Winlock Police Department as K-9 officer Steve Miller stands in the background on Thursday in Winlock.
Police dogs trained in narcotic detection are widely used throughout the nation to locate drugs a police officer otherwise would not be able to find.
The drugs dogs in Washington learn to “alert” on five odors — marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine — by sitting down, an action that indicates to their handler that drugs are present. In Washington, there are about 160 accredited drug dogs, including three in Lewis County, according to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC).
For these dogs and their respective handlers, the passage of Initiative 502, a measure on the ballot this November that would decriminalize marijuana, may have a serious effects on how police will be able utilize drug dogs in obtaining probable cause for a search warrant.
Pot or Not?
The Winlock Police Department’s drug dog, a 5-year-old Belgian malinois named Misha, has assisted law enforcement in seizing more than 22 pounds of methamphetamine from various arrests, mostly within Lewis County, since starting her career as a drug dog two years ago.
“Meth’s a big thing here,” said Winlock police officer Steve Miller, Misha’s handler. “It’s the most prevalent issue in this area.”
Often drug dogs assigned to patrol officers, like Misha and the two other commissioned police dogs in Lewis County, are frequently used for exterior vehicle searches, meaning if police suspect drugs are inside a vehicle, they can call a K-9 team to walk around the car.
If the dog alerts to the odor of drugs, it is probable cause for a search warrant.
In order to be an accredited drug dog in Washington state, like Misha, the dog must be able to detect all five odors — marijuana included.
Like the state’s other drug dogs, Misha alerts on pot the same way she alerts on meth.
If marijuana is decriminalized, explained Centralia police officer Tracy Murphy, a former K-9 officer and member of the Washington Police Canine Association, the dog’s alert in an exterior vehicle search would be worthless in gaining probable cause for a search warrant.
“If a dog is trained on marijuana and alerts on an odor, we’re not going to know what drug it is,” Murphy said.
Misha’s handler, however, is not too concerned about I-502.
“Until it passes, I am not going to worry about it,” Miller said, explaining that he doubts the initiative will pass, and if it does, it will probably be challenged in the court before going into effect.
Misha, who initially cost $5,500 to purchase and has gone through an upward of 300 training hours, can have a career that lasts a decade, depending on her health, Miller said.
Miller also said he and Misha frequently assist other law enforcement agencies outside the city of Winlock; ninety percent of the time, it is to perform an exterior search of a vehicle.
Waiting Until the Election
Murphy, who also helps train other local police dogs, like Lobo, Centralia Police Department’s two-year-old purebred German shepherd, said there is hesitation to train dogs beginning their careers to alert on marijuana.
Lobo, who will be a full-service police dog when trained, meaning he can also track suspects, was supposed to start training on narcotics this fall. Murphy said he and Lobo’s handler, Ruben Ramirez, are purposely delaying the narcotics training in order to see if the CJTC, which is the agency that accredits the state’s drug dogs, adjusts its certification requirements for K-9s, making it so the handlers can choose whether or not to train their dog to recognize pot.
As Murphy explained, it’s entirely possible that Lobo’s career may outlast the criminalization of marijuana.
Lobo is not the only dog whose handler is waiting for the possible accreditation change; Chris Fulton, a K-9 officer with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, is also waiting to train a drug dog in hopes of certifying it without marijuana.
Don’t Expect Them to Forget
If, or when marijuana is decriminalized, either in this election or in the future, it will ultimately affect how law enforcement will be able use patrol drug dogs, Murphy said, adding that it is not a realistic expectation to re-train a dog to ignore marijuana.
While the dogs trained to recognize marijuana could still be used in situations where probable cause already exists, like in a search of a house during a drug raid, it’s likely they could not be used in obtaining probable cause, especially in exterior vehicle searches.
Misha’s handler also acknowledged that decriminalization of marijuana will affect how he uses the dog in law enforcement.
“We’ll have to approach things different,” Miller said. “But we certainly don’t want to decommission our dog.”
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Stephanie Schendel: (360) 807-8208
