Gilroy Police Department and officer Joseph Deras welcome his
new 95-pound K-9 partner
Gilroy – The newest member of the Gilroy Police Department made his first big arrest just hours into his second day of work – and officer Gusty “Gus” Hartis Bohemia didn’t even have to move an inch. Just the sight of the 95-pound German shepherd was enough to force three burglary suspects to surrender to police last Thursday.
“He’s unusually large. Nobody’s going to be able to outrun him,” said his handler, Anti-Crime Team Investigator Joseph Deras.
But he’s also friendly.
Despite being slightly older, the 2-year-old Gus was chosen over three other police dogs from the Czech Republic for his temperament and healthy aggression.
The department lost half its K-9 division after officer Nestor Quinones retired 9-year-old Kimbo in January. Deras, who has 15 years of policing under his belt – three serving as a handler in Monterey County, was selected to be the next handler.
He was accompanied by the department’s other K-9 handler Ryan Hollar and Sgt. Kurt Svardal for the selection process last month.
“We all agreed that this is the best dog for me and for the city,” he said, patting the shepherd.
The first dog they saw was real aggressive and would have not been able to be used in the schools for demonstrations.
“That’s not what Gilroy’s all about,” Deras said. “I want to keep with the tradition Nestor set by going out into the community giving presentations. It’s a delicate line because you need to be able to put him in an environment with children and on the other hand, 10 minutes later he might be chasing a suspect down the street.”
K-9’s are used as a search tool during high-risk calls and are not considered a weapon. They bite to hold a fleeing suspect – not to cause pain.
“They don’t know they’re hurting someone when they bite, they think it’s a game,” Deras said. “We’d rather that person not get bit and just surrender.”
The officer pays the $4,500 cost of the dog and the two become partners for life. When an officer’s shift ends it doesn’t mean their responsibilities for the animal do.
The pair live together, train together and work together. 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.
The dogs are valuable tools because they can sniff out a suspect hiding in an industrial park in less than half the time it would take several officers. But they not only save time, they may even save lives.
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 likely would have been chasing down the suspect instead.
“Their whole goal in life is to please their handler,” Deras said.
And it’s obvious from the way Gus follows Deras with his gaze, waiting for a command. From the moment Deras opens the car door in the parking lot of Christmas Hill Park, two large brown eyes track him. When people approach, Gus looks first to Deras before responding to the open palm offered. Then he greets it with a lick and a nudge.
“We’re still in the bonding phase where he understands that he can trust me and I can trust him,” Deras said.
Together they’ve been through 160 hours of basic certification training. In the fall, the two will start classes in narcotics training. It’s the start of relationship that will be established every day for the rest of their lives. They will continue training bi-monthly in a class and daily on the streets until Gus is retired.
So far they have practiced search scenarios at industrial parks, open fields, after a simulated car chase, during various times of day and night.
“Anything that’s unusual we’re trying to explore so that when it happens he’ll remember and be used to that,” Deras said. “They can go out day one and get the job done – but it takes time to get him acclimated. This is the biggest commitment you have (in the police department.) The critical thing is maintaining control of your dog.”
The K-9’s come from Germany and the Czech Republic pre-trained and ready to work. They come from purebred bloodlines and know how to jump over 8-foot walls and are unfazed by gunfire.
But Gus wasn’t ready for garage door openers, the sound of police radios or the laughter of children.
“All of that was new to him,” Deras said.
He is still getting used to the routine. At the same time every day he heads to Deras’ cruiser – anxious to get to work.
And so far, he’s proven himself worthy of the job.
On his second day, Gus helped police arrest a family of three burglarizing a home on Monterey Road April 13. When Deras made the announcement that a K-9 was present, the three looked at Gus and surrendered without any problems.
“I saw the dog and I didn’t want trouble,” one suspect told police.
