Marco's Catches
stop it...search it...seize it...
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Stop it...Search it...Seize it...
PSD MARCO service 10/1992-6/2001
THE"ADDICTION"forCRIMINAL
INTERDICTION
ANDPATROLLING
    Police Service Dog Marco was a 1 ½ year old Dutch Shepard  when I  first  
received him in 1992. He had been flown to the United States from Europe
where he had been selected by the European  vendor that our agency
worked with.   I had been selected  to  be a  PSD handler and soon met Marco
in October 1992. My new  position in  my agency  had  begun on October 12.    
I, as well as  four  other troopers  had been selected to  join the ranks of the
Police Service Dog Unit.  Although it was not a separate Division such as the
Uniform, Criminal or Drug Divisions  in our agency yet,  we were definitely  in a
specialized part  of the Patrol in those days of '92.
     Being a K-9 trooper had been  something  that I had been interested  in for  
some time because  of the  fact it was fairly new not just  in our agency  but in
our state as  a  whole.  Sure, there  were a few agencies that had police dogs
and had them as part of their agencies for a good long  while.  Note-worthy
was the  capitol city :  Lincoln  and the  K-9  unit they had and how successful  
it had  been for them.  We Troopers  were originally  trained by  a  dog  trainer
company called Detector Dogs International  who had  been training  the
Border Patrol  and  other  agencies  all  over  the  country  for several years.    
After eight  weeks  of mostly  ten to fifteen hour training days, we finally
graduated to a certified PSD Team on December 12, 1992.  
     Right out of the gates, PSD Marco and me put a small crimp on the ‘drug
traffickers' who  ventured  across our area  on the Interstate and  other
roadways.   Working  hand in hand with  other  Troopers  such as  George
Scott,  Andy Allen,  Jerry  Schenck  and  Sgt. Chris Kolb; PSD Marco and I were
kept pretty busy.  Coming on as a PSD team only a year or so after   the first
PSD Team of Jerry Schenck and PSD Nero,  we   ventured  into  many great
“bad guy catching” escapades.  
     Jerry and PSD Nero worked the day shift nabbing smugglers and literally
thousands of pounds of marijuana and cocaine laden  vehicles in the early to
late 90’s, (major
methamphetamine trafficking had not yet started as the
Mexican   Drug Trafficking  Organizations (DTO's) had   not yet taken   that
enterprise over   from the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs-this would soon occur in
the mid 1990’s though).
     Myself and PSD Marco would be assigned to the night shift (by my lack of
seniority with Jerry's 19 years  versus my 4 years) and  we ventured more into
foiling  the “breaking and entering” arena of criminality for agencies such as
the Hall and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Departments but mainly the Grand
Island Police Department  were the ones who  kept me the most busy with the
patrol calls. I still got plenty involved in the drug seizure business watching
Marco sniff them out, but the  patrol  calls early on  was what  Marco  first  
made his name known for.
     The GIPD  kept me  very busy  on my night  shifts.  I  still tell the stories to
new  guys of Sergeant  Pete Kortum  of  the  GIPD who  would call me  directly
at  home for a faster response to their assistance after the  first ‘caper’ of a
burglar being caught by PSD Marco. Pete who has been deservedly promoted
through the ranks and now is a Captain with the GIPD and one day most likely
will be Chief, would call me directly at home usually at about 3 or 4 AM while I
was fast asleep in a ‘REM state’ and  he would ask for PSD Marco as well as my
assistance.  Now  you're probably saying, “I thought  you were assigned ‘night
shift’ with PSD Marco? Why would you be asleep at 3 or 4 AM?”  Well...the
night shift for me was not  actually “nights”.  It was more like a “swing shift”.  I
worked generally  either 4  PM  to midnight  or maybe 6  pm to  2 AM in the
summer.   It was generally my luck that I would be asleep  when the  call  
would come  from him.   Back in those  young days  of mine,  being woken up
once, and sometimes two times in a night for a callout  was what I lived for.        
The adrenaline  really starts flowing fast as you are told  the PD (police
department) has  a guy surrounded in  a building that  he was burglarizing,  or
a call  for  the dog because  a  guy that has denied a Trooper consent to
search his car and PSD Marco is desperately needed.
 Out  of bed I would hop, then get dressed in my black  patrol BDU’s  (Battle
Dress Uniform), gun  belt,  bullet proof vest and me  and Marco would be on
our way as quick as we could.  I always knew time was  of the essence.  The
very first  “apprehension”  for  Marco was a  week  or so after  graduating  to
the “streets” as a PSD Team in 1992.  Grand Island had  never had  a PSD Team
in  the area and  knowing one  was available now,  the Police; especially Sgt.
Pete Kortum acted upon  it with vigor and many times enthusiasm.  In a city of  
almost  40,000 people  it was  a target rich area and Marco  proved  himself
more  than once.
     On this  first callout,  the State Patrol  dispatch called me at home and said
the GIPD believed they had a guy inside of  the Trinity School in  Grand Island. I
got dressed and sped off with PSD Marco and met with Pete out in  the
parking lot.  Pete explained “I’m not sure if he’s still in  there Greg... we haven’t
had any alarms from the motion detectors go off in a while so he may have
slipped out before my guys were all set up.” (on perimeter duty). I told  him
that we’d give it a try anyway.  What the hell?  I’m already out of bed;  just as
well let Marco take a check inside the school.  Even if the bad guy’s gone,
Marco still gets the training aspect of searching the building.  At this early
stage in his long  career, he would not know if it’s for real or not. Pete advised
the fellow officers that myself and PSD Marco were entering the front doors
and that they should watch their locations with great attention.
     We entered quietly only a few feet into the old school. We didn’t use any
flashlights so as to not give our positions away.  We crept  to the edge of  the
long hallway and  when  I saw  that  Pete and Marco  were ready,  I yelled out
my commands as  required by policy. “State Patrol!... sound off or I’ll send the
dog!”  This was repeated a minimum of two  times. A well trained PSD is
supposed to not make a sound during this announcement. It’s called
“surveillance position”.  The dog  quietly listens  for any movements or sounds
away from his handler during the ‘surveillance position’.  But the only problem
was that Marco,  who was by all accounts a well trained PSD, also had a
reputation that he liked to do things his way sometimes.  So on this virgin  of  
occasions on a real callout,   Marco decided  to rambunctiously  bark
repeatedly  the instant he heard  those commands from me.  In fact   he was  
so riled up and  excited,  as I desperately tried to control  him by  hanging
onto  his collar and yelling  my lawful commands,  he whipped his  head back
and decided  to see if I’d flinch by him literally biting the hand that feeds him.    
        Of course I didn’t feel his canines penetrating  my right forearm.  In fact  I   
didn't even  realize it until later that the son- of-a-gun had also ripped my cool
NSP  “raid jacket” with his thirst for the bad guy.  As  soon as the commands  
were yelled and  all the commotion Marco was making, it was pretty obvious
to the ‘bad guy’ we really did have a dog.
I  then heard footsteps  running down the hall.  Yes it was the burglar running
and getting  away  and as  quick as I let Marco go I figured this guy was going
to get his butt bit.  I mean, my arm had already been bit  and I was supposed
to be in the building.  The bad guy sure as hell deserved it more  than me.  PSD
Marco ran down  the hall as fast  as he could but in all reality was not very
fast.  Remember... this was a school.  Not a  new school  with carpet.   An old
school with slick tile on  the floor.  And running on  tile with  toenails  and four
pads is'nt the  easiest thing to do if you  are a dog.
    Bad Guy Michael England had been at the end of the hallway when the
barking started. As  Marco ran,  and slid, and ran  and slid,  he came closer to
the burglars butt.   But  the burglar escaped  out  the side door just  in time  for  
him  (still with the  stolen TV  in  his hands) to run into the waiting arms of Grand
Island police officer Frank Bergmark.
   It wasn't  the all-time, world-class  greatest apprehension of a criminal but it  
was a  big deal for me as  Marco had made his  first apprehension.    I mean  
what  was  better than catching  a burglar  running out  with a TV still in  his
hands into the  hands of the  police? The officers  from the police department  
thought it was great,  Pete thought  it was great, and I definitely thought it
was great. Even Marco thought it was great. I praised-up Marco, took him
home  and gave him a piece of steak that was in the fridge.  It would  
become  a very expensive reward as I promised to officers from then on Marco
would get a piece of meat or steak every time  he caught a bad guy.  It was
only weeks  later that Marco  got to prove himself all over again.  I was called
out by the State Patrol dispatch that the GIPD had a possible burglar inside of
a local bowling alley.
     Eventually  Marco and  I  would  work  day  by day for a total  of  8 1/2
years.    When   I finally had to retire him,  it was a difficult decision to make but
one I still feel was the right one to make.  Marco had started to get displaysia
in the hip area and  with the  medication he was taking and the fact  that  I
did not want to work him til he was crippled,  I decided  to retire Marco out at
age 10.   June 1, 2001 was Marco's official last day.
   Marco would be responsible in his 8 1/2 years of sniffing out literally tons of
marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine and 'currency galore' and would
receive several  specialized  awards.     His  awards include  winning Gold, Silver  
and  Bronze  medals repeatedly in both 1996 and 1998  in Salt Lake City at  the
Utah Police Service  Dog  Championships in the  categories of : High Risk  
Building Search, Toughest Dog,  Fastest Dog,  Mile  and  a Half Obstacle
Course,
SWAT Dog  Deployment  and the Dual Dog Deployment
Competition.     Marco also would receive a Special commendation for  an
apprehension on a  c
old,dark night in the snow- filled fields of Nebraska for a
suspect out of Texas wanted for several dangerous felony charges.  
  On February 13, 2004  I would have to put Marco 'down' .   Marco was a
great dog and he'll always be one of the Patrol's finest K-9's.
   Read more of Marco and some of his Capers .
Millions of Vehicles will pass you by during your
career...
Many of them with criminal activity...Will
you do something about it?
Trooper Greg Goltz