Battle brewing over Schertz PD K-9 officer

SCHERTZ, Texas – A fight is brewing over a police K-9 in Schertz.

“Medor is 8 years old and is at or not far from his K9 retirement age. A well-deserved retirement with the only handler he has ever known is most definitely in his best interest,” Deidra Lee wrote in a remark to Schertz City Council.

“What message are we sending to them that we are going to use an animal until its life cycle is completely over to then just be just discarded like a piece of equipment?” Luke Hanley stated to town council Tuesday night time.

They have been sturdy phrases from the folk of Schertz to their elected officers about police K-9 Medor.

Medor has labored as a narcotics detection K-9 at Schertz PD since 2016 when he went thru coaching along with his longtime partner Cpl. Jason Hanley.

“I would say that — every handler would say that, you know, the bond between them and their dog is significant,” Hanley stated.

Significant and yields effects. In 2021, Medor and Hanley discovered over 1,000 grams of various narcotics, main to twelve arrests for the dep..

This May, Hanley left SPD and requested to retire the now 8-year-old Medor and let him are living out his senior years at house with circle of relatives.

“K-9′s service life is anywhere from 6 years to 10 years,” Hanley stated.

Schertz PD leader Jim Lowery says Medor has extra in him.

“We believe at a minimum of two and up to four more years, and that’s been verified by the current vet,” Lowery stated.

In May, Hanley wrote to Chief Lowery asking to undertake Medor, mentioning a prior dialog in regards to the K-9 program in January.

“I brought up potentially how many more years of service Medor had which would be two, however, that was intending me as his handler,” Hanley wrote.

“The bottom line is I had to say no. It’s not a decision I take lightly, but it’s in the best interests of this community and this department,” Lowery stated.

Lowery says if Medor had a yr or much less of provider, he’d give the canine to Hanley and start the seek for a brand new K-9.

“I believe, as the chief of police, the best decision is to put that dog back to work. That’s minimal cost for us and for the community. Otherwise, I’m going to be spending $25,000 or more to get a new dog,” Lowery stated.

“The decisions made by the department are deemed retaliatory in nature,” Sabrina Richardson wrote in a remark to town council.

An online petition to reunite Medor with Hanley has garnered over 2,800 signatures in per week.

“All I care about is just making sure my partner, Medor, can come back home,” Hanley stated.

“I’m happy to see a lot of the responses from citizens. That just tells me they’re paying attention. I’m disappointed in the fact that I do believe there’s some misinformation out there,” Lowery stated.

Some of that incorrect information comprises rumors that Schertz PD supposed to promote Medor to any other division.

“Unequivocally, the answer is no. I have been asked by that agency to sell the dog, and they were told no. I’m not selling the dog. I wouldn’t sell it to you to start off with,” Lowery stated. “If I was going to do that, why wouldn’t I have sold it to Jason? But in addition to that, I don’t believe in selling the dog.”

The leader says Medor has been stored in a kennel whilst they regarded for a brand new handler, which they have got discovered now. Both will wish to go through certification to start out operating in combination formally.

The leader says they’re tentatively making plans for that coaching for October.