The Moscow Police Department (MPD) will wait at least another year before it can use dogs to detect illegal drugs.
This comes after MPD Chief James Fry retracted a funding request late last month that would have supplied his agency with a drug dog that could aid in detecting drugs in roadside encounters and domestic police drug searches, in part in response to what he says is an increase in heroin and meth use in Moscow.
His presentation earlier last month on the request was met with some contention within City Council about the inclusion of marijuana detection. Fry later withdrew the proposal for consideration until the Council plans for the 2021 fiscal year, which will begin next October.
Among a group of drugs the dog would have been trained to detect, marijuana caused consternation from some Council members. Some worried the dog would lead to more criminalization in the community for possession of a drug that’s legal a short drive west of Moscow.
Council Member Brandy Sullivan said in an interview that she opposed the request because she believes it signals a prioritization for enforcement of marijuana policing and worries it may tarnish the relationship MPD has with the Moscow community.
Staff Photo | Argonaut
“Obtaining a dog that is trained for marijuana communicates to the public that searching for minor possession of marijuana is a priority, whether it is or not,” Sullivan said, adding that she “would rather see that money spent on prevention and rehabilitation efforts.”
Fry said in an interview the ultimate goal of the dog would be to remove heroin from the community, but he said marijuana is illegal in Idaho and MPD must enforce Idaho laws. Fry also said the dog will serve as an educational tool through community projects such as school visits.
“It’s been said that if we get a dog, it will deter from our community policing philosophy, and I don’t agree with that,” Fry said. “I think it will only bolster that and make kids even more comfortable coming up and talking to us.”
A supporter of the drug dog request on the Council, Art Bettge, said in an interview that he liked it because he thinks it enables police to do their jobs and helps ensure police safety.
“The parameters that are associated with the drug dog, which is to say which scents it is trained to detect, should best be left to law enforcement officials who will be using the job as part of their job, instead of political people who are not well-versed in law enforcement,” Bettge said.
Fry said MPD, City Council and the Moscow community will continue to discuss drug dogs in the coming year.
“There were some concerns by the City Council that the community wasn’t ready for a drug dog, so we decided to wait a year, educate the community and build some support for that,” Fry said.
Ellen Dennis can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @edennis37
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to say that Moscow is west of Washington.