Madawaska Police Officer Seth Querze, left, and Police Chief Jamie Pelletier current the city’s board of selectmen with a proposal to amass and practice a canine to assist detect medication and observe lacking individuals. (Chris Bouchard | St. John Valley Times)
MADAWASKA, Maine — Madawaska police can have assist discovering unlawful medication resembling methamphetamine as soon as the city’s lately accredited drug-detection canine is on board.
Madawaska Police Chief Jamie Pelletier and Officer Seth Querze efficiently pitched the concept throughout a recent selectmen’s assembly. Querze can be schooled to coach and deal with a drug detection canine, and in flip would practice the canine as soon as it’s obtained.
Madawaska, a city simply shy of 4,000 individuals, like different small Maine cities is on the lookout for methods to fight substance use issues involving methamphetamines and narcotics.
“At this point, it’s a reality that there is a drug problem in our community,” stated Pelletier. “And not just our community — it’s small town America. That’s just the world we live in today.”
To assist put this in perspective, Querze stated that from January to late August, he confiscated 312 grams of methamphetamine, 26.4 grams of fentanyl, six Xanax capsules and a couple of.6 grams of psychedelic mushrooms. Although he didn’t have the whole quantity of cocaine that he confiscated inside this era, he stated that about 17 grams of cocaine was seized at a recent bust.
He would have missed the cocaine completely if a fellow officer had not prompt looking by all of the kitchen cupboards, he stated.
“It would have saved us some time if we had a dog that could’ve gone in there and done a sweep on the whole house,” he stated.
Meth makes up the vast majority of the city’s drug seizures, in accordance with Madawaska Police Sgt. Sam Dechaine.
Just six years in the past, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency in Madawaska busted one of many largest meth labs that they had ever encountered. The lab was run by a pair who had two kids in the home. Officials seized 80 containers that had been allegedly used to make methamphetamine.
Fentanyl is almost all the time discovered at any time when different arduous medication, like meth, are seized, Querze stated, however the canine wouldn’t be educated to detect fentanyl as half of the present proposal.
“The normal drug detection training is more for methamphetamine and narcotic-based drugs,” stated Querze. “You have to go through another extensive training for fentanyl.”
The police canine additionally can be used to seek out misplaced kids and adults and other people with psychological sickness. The canine wouldn’t be educated to chew or assault anybody, nor would it not be educated to detect marijuana since that drug is authorized in Maine.
The canine has not been born but. Pelletier stated that Spruce Valley German shepherd breeding facility in St. Agatha agreed to donate an additional canine out of the subsequent litter that has greater than 5 puppies, plus six months of meals, vaccination payments and the primary yr of veterinarian payments.
He stated the division could possibly purchase an old patrol automobile from the Sheriff’s Office for $5,000. The automobile has excessive mileage, however is outfitted to move police dogs. If one other new or used automobile is bought, most of what’s wanted to outfit it for a police canine could possibly be paid for by grants, Pelletier stated.
“We need another car at some point,” he stated. “And I’m hoping that happens in the next budget year.”
The chief estimated that pet food would cost about $600 per yr. And since Querze can be coaching the canine himself, he can be given 4 hours of extra time per week to do it. The chief stated that is the usual underneath present federal labor legal guidelines. It provides as much as about an additional $7,800 per yr.
The selectmen unanimously accredited the proposal, with the caveat that they may work out future funding particulars, resembling buying a automobile to accommodate the canine, at a later time.
Pelletier counseled Querze for his willingness to take duty for elevating and coaching the canine.
“He’s essentially putting his social life on hold for an indefinite period,” Pelletier stated. “The nights of sitting at home by a campfire and drinking beers are probably not gonna happen for him, because he’ll be on call all the time.”
