A bite out of crime

Jose Paul Corona

Roy, a German Malinois, stares intently at his target.

The police cadet who will be on the receiving end of the dog’s

bite stands his ground and waits for the animal’s powerful jaws to

lock onto his arm.

When Pat Estes, Roy’s handler, gives the signal, he eagerly goes

to work.

Students at the Golden West College Police Academy experienced

firsthand what it feels like to be apprehended by a police dog when

they volunteered to be attacked by Roy during a training exercise

last week.

Police officers from the Fountain Valley, El Segundo, West Covina,

El Monte and Rialto police departments arrived at the campus with

their dogs eager to “play.”

While many think police dogs are vicious, nothing could be farther

from the truth, said Glenn Waipa, an academy instructor and a member

of the Orange Police Department.

“Take a look at what the dog is doing -- he’s having fun,” Waipa

told the cadets. “This is fun and games for the dog.”

Even when the dog had a cadet’s arm between its teeth, its tail

was wagging and it was happy.

“This is strictly a tug-of-war kind of game,” he said. “We can’t

do this if we had a mean dog.”

When dogs are trained to apprehend criminals, they are taught that

it’s a game. That’s why the dogs enjoy the training exercise.

“This is fun for him. It’s like a big play toy,” said Estes, a

member of the Fountain Valley Police Department. “He’s tired, but

he’ll do it again.”

Cadets who were willing to go up against the dog put a protective

sleeve over their arms or they slipped on a thick cotton and nylon

body suit.

They collectively groaned when they saw the dog leap onto one of

their classmates.

“It’s amazing how strong they are,” cadet David Ibarra said.

The 28-year-old Alta Loma resident put the protective sleeve over

his arm and took a few bites from the dog. He said he was caught off

guard by how quick the dog was. He was also surprised that he could

still feel the dogs jaw through the sleeve.

“The pinch, you can feel it,” he said.

Although their bite is ferocious, it is a game controlled by the

handler. When the dogs are ordered to let go, they do so and can be

pet by the person they had a hold of just moments before.

“They’re like a light switch. You switch them on and off,” Waipa

said.