K-9 Crook joins the Bluefield Police Department

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4 days ago

bluefield – K-9 Crook still has a lot of puppy energy and enthusiasm in him, but that's helping launch his career as a bomb-sniffing and evidence-finding dog for the Bluefield Police Department.
The department's new recruit was circling his handler, Lt. Brian Copenhaver, when they arrived at the police station Monday. Crook, a Springer Spaniel, is about 2-years-old.
'We ordered Crook from Guardian Farms in Ona, W.Va.,' Copenhaver said while the new recruit enjoyed all the attention. 'His specialty is bombs, so he's a bomb dog and article search. We actually named him Crook after Lt. Crook, who had died in the line of duty eight years ago, and we wanted to remember Crook and this way every time we go out and do a demonstration in the community, for the schools, any of that, it allows us to talk about Crook, what he had done here, his legacy here, and we wanted to do that through our dog here.'
The late Lt. Aaron L. Crook died in the line of duty on May 30, 2017 after pulling over a suspected drunk driver at Lee Street and two law enforcement cruisers that were headed to the scene collided. He had been with the department since 2008. In May 2019, a section of Princeton Avenue was named the Bluefield Police Lt. Aaron L. Crook Memorial Road in his honor.
K-9 Thor, who has been with the department for years, is still doing things like going to local schools, but the department decided to acquire a bomb dog.
'Kids love to pet Thor and Thor loves going out, but we know it's only a matter of time before Thor does retire and what we wanted to do was go ahead and start a younger dog out and get him going to be able to do the same things that Thor did,' Copenhaver said.
Tail wagging, Crook tried climbing onto Copenhaver's desk and jumped out of his chair at one point.
'As you can tell, still very much puppy,' he said. 'Wants to work all the time. Very hyper.'
Crook was chosen because Springer Spaniels have a lot of energy, which makes them very good search dogs, Copenhaver said. There are a lot of bird dogs in the law enforcement community now because they have good health and long lifespans.
'And they have high drives, which means they search really, really well,' Copenhaver said. 'And he wants to go right now.'
The police department acquired Crook last April. Copenhaver contacted Guardian Farms and described the sort of dog that the department wanted. The owners, Kyle Patton and Levi Livingston, are both retired law enforcement officers in West Virginia and part of the West Virginia Police K-9 Association.
'I called them and explained to them what I wanted,' he said. 'They jumped on it and they were able to find him and train him up and got him ready for us. We actually went to a seminar the first part of April. We're certified through the West Virginia Police K-9 Association and he's ready to go. He's ready to work.'
Crook can detect multiple odors that are in bombs. He also does what is called article search. If somebody leaves behind evidence of a crime, Crook can help locate it, Copenhaver said.
Copenhaver had Crook demonstrate his sniffing capabilities before taking him outside. Yvonne Harris, a retired teacher living in Bluefield, watched the excited spaniel.
'I think he's cute as he can be,' she said. 'What kind of dog is he? He's bomb sniffing?'
She asked about Crook's breed.
'A Springer Spaniel? My aunt had one of those,' Harris said. 'Look at him go. They are very active little dogs.'
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