LENS donates $15,000 to Charleston PD for new K-9
CHARLESTON S.C.(WCBD) – The Charleston Police Department received a donation on Friday to purchase a new police dog.
This donation was funded by the Law Enforcement Neighborhood Safety (LENS) Foundation.
The organization’s efforts were to make the community safer.
The Charleston Police Department plans to use the funding to purchase a new K9, and all the proceeds will go towards vet and training expenses for the new police dog.
George Reeth, the chairman of the LENS foundation, said he wanted to contribute not only to the community but also to what the officers may have lacked.
“The concept of a K9 unit and the value of a k9 unit to the police and community offer so much benefit to policing. I understand a lot of criminals may be more afraid of a dog than they are of a police officer with a gun. It’s interesting, but we see a whole value of what the k9 unit can offer,” said Reeth.
Officers requested to have the dog named after former Chief Luther Reynolds. The police community wanted the new addition to be involved and a part of the community to make it safe as Reynolds served the community.
“My hope is for K9 Luther to make as good and positive an impact on the community and police department as Chief Reynolds did,” said Hall.
Peter Hall, an officer who will also be the handler for the K9, says he’s excited about bringing the K9 home.
“K9 Luther will be a dual-purpose patrol dog, which means he will do tracking and apprehension and detection anything with the human order and getting evidence those type of things,” said Hall.
Before going out into the field, the K9 will be required to go through proper training and pass a test.
Officer Anthony Gibson said the department will follow the proper guidelines to ensure the dog is ready before going to the field.
“Dogs that we have for dual purpose are highly trained, so it’s not a short amount of time. It’s not a matter of weeks and months that requires training. They’re pretty much trained daily with the handler,” said Gibson.
