Meet Kiso: Comanche PD’s K-9 unit first days on the job

COMANCHE, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) – The Comanche Police Department has someone new patrolling the streets. The crew has welcomed a new K-9 to the department, a two-year-old German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix named Kiso.

K-9 handler officer Dorthy Cole said Kiso is just like any other dog, having fun chasing his tail and hanging out with her two chihuahuas. She added that while he may be cute, he is a trained detection dog, and while they are out patrolling, the job is all about reading cues.

“He is trained to find methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and THC. Being able to handle the dog [and] being able to read the dog and know when the dog is in dope, or if he is just smelling a tree because it smells nice,” Cole explained.

When it comes to drug enforcement, Cole shared that this new addition will help reduce crime.

“We’re always falling behind. Equipment can only do so much and our noses can only do so much, but you know we have a pretty great weapon right here. I think he is going to let us get ahead of the game and stop drugs from coming into Comanche,” added Cole.

Comanche Chief of Police Kelly Davis shares Kiso was the last phase of a federal grant under the Rural Crime Violence Reduction Initiative that was received from the Department of Justice in 2021.

“The focus of this grant was three items, and it was the illegal sale and distribution of narcotics; in particular, methamphetamine and fentanyl, human trafficking, and child exploitation. Increase or improve our forensic abilities for cell phone investigations and a new forensic computer. We were able to introduce license plate readers,” explained Davis.

Davis shared they were able to assist other law enforcement agencies like the Texas Rangers with investigations through these new tools. Although this was the last phase of the grant, the department hopes to apply to another grant that is similar to keep bringing essential resources to Comanche.

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