Waldoboro residents passed around bags of drugs including methadone, heroin, crack cocaine and LSD, engaged actively in conversations about drug laws and watched a drug sniffing dog demonstration in the fourth installment of the 10 week Citizen’s Police Academy Monday night.
Lincoln County Sheriff Deputy Brent Barter guided his tethered German Shepherd through the car of Waldoboro Police officer Thomas Bartunek as police academy participants stood and watched in the municipal office parking lot Oct. 19.
Pulling out a canister of marijuana from the car, Barter explained some of the drug sniffing capabilities his dog, Olga, has.
Seated in the heated town office meeting room, students listened as Barter also talked about Olga’s many other skills. Untethered, Olga circled the room and greeted participants with a sniff, seemingly happy to receive an occasional pat on her head.
“When it comes to drugs, they have such a keen nose,” Barter said, adding that they (he and Olga as a K-9 unit team) just received drug detection certification.
The training takes one year, but Olga also serves law enforcement in other capacities. Brought to Maine from Germany, she only understands German commands. She has been trained in the tracking of human subjects, protecting an officer and bite work.
Barter explained how Olga learned to catch and bite someone who is running away in situations involving gunfire. Police dogs in other states usually serve a single purpose, he said. There are cadaver dogs (who search for bodies), drug dogs and bomb dogs. While Olga is a multi-purpose canine, she is not trained to sniff out bombs. Barter said training a dog to be aggressive in sniffing out bombs could prove to be deadly.
The deputy and his dog won an USPCA award recently for locating an 8-year-old boy lost in the woods off Friendship Rd. in Waldoboro. Barter said the site was contaminated after over 100 people had been searching for the boy.
“She works hard,” Barter said, adding, “but she hates water.”
Barter said someone had suggested they bring out another search party, but at 11 p.m. that night and despite her aversion to water, Olga plowed on, not giving up until she had reached her goal. Participants in the class asked Barter questions about how the dogs are chosen and some of the work they do.
A detective working for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency spoke with participants about some of the complexities, challenges and programs associated with his job. The discussion between students and Detective Jason Pease, which also included a showing of photos depicting drug bust scenes and physical samples of various drugs seized, developed into conversations about culture, ethics and law.
Even though the Midcoast area is considered by residents as relatively safe from violent crime, Det. Jason Pease said, it ranks highest in the state for prescription drug abuse. Marijuana is the largest cash crop in Maine. Out of all the towns in Lincoln County, Waldoboro has the highest drug problem, he said.
“Doesn’t that drive you nuts when you face that big mountain every morning?” participant Bob Butler said.
Speaking for others in the law enforcement field Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde said he likes to get the bad guy. Agreeing with him, Pease said he enjoys his job. He added that he likes to figure out how drug operations work. Pease said rather than driving around in a cruiser, he prefers showing up at people’s door and working with individuals on a more personal level. He said the Midcoast area has a lot of proactive law enforcement focused on illegal drug use and distribution.
Participants talked with Pease about why the relapse back into crime by a convicted criminal (the recidivism rate) is high in Waldoboro and other towns and the cultural differences separating Midcoast towns from others in the state. Waldoboro is particularly attractive to marijuana growers, Pease said. He mentioned recent pot growing operations in private homes and shared some of the details.
While some of the techniques used and staggering amounts of marijuana grown surprised several of the residents, much of the conversation focused on the reasons why the illegal activity took place and what are some of the overarching cultural influences that allow it to happen. Unemployment and lack of options to make money are certainly just a couple of reasons, not excluding a lack of funding in rehabilitation programs, Pease and the police chief said.
“I think it’s great you guys have taken an interest in what we’re doing,” Pease said as the class drew toward a close.
The residents said they have been enjoying the experience, the discussions and learning more about law enforcement. The next class, on Mon., Oct. 26, will focus on substance abuse.
A School Resource Officer (SRO) will speak with residents and they will have a round table discussion about the Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) program.
