SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio — The Summit County Sheriff's Office is working to add additional K-9s to the county jail. Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree said this is because they are still receiving people in the jail that are bringing in drugs, despite implementing pat downs and an X-ray machine.
The K-9s they are targeting are some of the nearly 300 police dogs in Ohio trained to detect marijuana that were forced to retire after recreational marijuana use was legalized statewide. This is a move that would save the department tens of thousands of dollars.
Fatheree said newly trained K-9s can cost between $10,000 and $15,000, but in this case, that purchase price is wiped out completely.
"We have a tight budget, and you've got to try and stretch it so to better use," said Fatheree. "The only cost we have with these canines that are being recommissioned for the jail is just the cost of training them with their new handler and getting them certified again. That's a minimal cost in comparison."
Summit County Sheriffs Deputy Terrell Kemp works daily with one of the department's K-9s. He said this move is beneficial for the dogs.
"The dog wants to work and the dog wants to be active and to do their job," said Kemp. "So, I think it's very important for those dogs to have an opportunity to keep going and do what they love doing."
Fatheree said there is currently one formerly retired K-9 training to work in the jail, but her goal is to add at least three more in an effort to better assist the officers working in that facility.
"This is just another layer, another way to try to catch them, prevent them and stop overdoses," said Fatheree. "I want positive outcomes and I'm willing to do anything that I can in order to prevent those bad outcomes from occurring."