After seven and a half years, Gilroy police K-9 Kimbo
retires
Gilroy – After seven and half years of patrolling the streets together, officer Nestor Quinones’ partner retired three weeks ago – and having an empty backseat will take some time getting used to.
Both were so in tune they could communicate without speaking, a simple gesture would suffice. They’d drive through the night, often getting called out to search for a suspect who disappeared into a building or chase down a criminal fleeing on foot.
And no matter what, Quinones knew officer Kimbo would have his back.
Now, the 9-year-old, 75-pound German Shepherd, will spend his retirement days, “kicking it in the backyard with the poodle,” Quinones said. “It’s best if he spends his last days alive at home. I believe that your job as a handler is to know when it’s time to retire your dog.”
Kimbo served as a “find and bite” dog for the Gilroy Police Department, meaning he located suspects fleeing from police and bit them to hold them until officers could slap handcuffs on. He helped capture more than 20 suspects.
“He’s called out any time there is an officer safety issue, after a crime that poses a threat to a police officer or civilian,” Quinones said. “His primary job was to find the bad guys.”
For police dogs, training starts at birth. The K-9’s GPD uses are bred in Germany and come ready to work when they arrive.
They are taught to jump over 8-foot walls. They learn how to walk up stairs that have no backing – a feat for an animal with no depth perception – and across slippery surfaces. The sound of gunfire does not scare them, Quinones said.
“They have to have a lot of nerves,” he said.
And Kimbo does.
Other officers noticed how dedicated both Quinones and Kimbo were to the job, giving countless community demonstrations and learning how to communicate using hand signals.
“Nestor worked really hard with his dog,” said Sgt. Kurt Svardal, a former GPD K-9 handler. “The two of them had a great bond … Kimbo was very, very driven. He loved going to work, and you could tell when you were out on calls, he was, ‘Let’s go!’ ”
K-9’s are tools used to find people – they are not considered a weapon.
“The dog doesn’t have any hands to hold, (so) they bite and hold,” Quinones said. “He doesn’t bite because he’s mean, but because they’re trained to bite … He can’t protect himself from someone that’s armed.”
One of Kimbo’s more famous grabs was about six months ago when a kidnapping ended in a car chase. The road was a dead end and the suspect fled from his vehicle and started climbing over a stone wall. Kimbo jumped up and pulled him down as he was going over.
The suspect had to be hit with a baton and Tasered before he would submit to arrest.
And his reward?
“A nice pat on the head on the way back to the car,” Quinones said.
K-9’s are not used when a suspect is known to be armed. However, if the suspect turns out to have a weapon and ends up wounding or killing a police dog – the animal has done his job by potentially saving the life of an officer who would have been chasing down the suspect instead, Quinones said.
Hitting a police dog is considered an attack against an officer.
Their keen sense of smell helps reduce the amount of time officers are tied up with a call by having to search on foot. Kimbo can sniff out a warehouse to find a suspect in less than half the time it would take several officers.
“They’re worth their weight in gold when it comes to use,” Svardal explained. “They can save so much time.”
K-9 handlers need to be calm and have good judgment about when the dog should be used. A handler that is too aggressive will show through in the dog.
“You want to make sure you have an officer who is responsible in everything he does,” Svardal said. “You want someone who is levelheaded.”
Police dogs cost about $4,500 that the officer pays for. After Quinones paid for Kimbo, GPD acquired a second canine through donations.
Handlers are on call 24 hours a day and used to assist outside agencies if needed. GPD often sends its handlers to help Morgan Hill Police Department with searches.
After the dog arrives it becomes more than a police tool.
“The moment you pick him up, it’s like becoming a parent,” Quinones said. “He’s not some tool you pick up at the police station and put away. It’s the most dedicated position at the department.”
At the end of a shift the K-9 goes home with the handler. The dog needs to be fed, bathed, and exercised.
At home, Kimbo plays with his Quinones’s three children. When at work, he’s focused.
Once while Quinones was on vacation, Kimbo grew so restless that he had to be driven to the police station where he slept in the parking lot.
“They’re just very energetic dogs and they love coming to work,” Quinones said. “When he’s in the car he knows it’s work time. That’s why we use Shepherds. They’re friendly when you want them to be, and very brave when you need them to be brave.”
GPD has one K-9 now that Kimbo has retired. Anti-Crime Team Investigator Joseph Deras has been selected to be the handler for the second police dog expected to arrive next month.
“Generally if you can get five years out of a police dog it is considered great,” Svardal said.
GPD got seven and half out of Kimbo.
Once Quinones noticed that Kimbo was slowing down, he did not want him confronted with a situation he couldn’t handle due to age.
The empty backseat is something Kimbo has yet to get used to as well.
“Every time he hears the garage door he goes crazy,” Quinones said. “He thinks he’s going to work.”
Memories of Kimbo
– Kimbo caught more than
20 suspects during his seven and a half years
with the Gilroy Police Department.
– A memorable grab he had was a couple of years ago when three suspects fled on foot after crashing a stolen vehicle in a field at night. Police located two suspects, however, Kimbo tracked the third suspect down. She was discovered standing amongst the weeds in a drainage ditch full of water with only her head above the surface.
