TOM: W Welcome t to "PD StStor"
I'm m your hosost, Tom Morrisis, Jr., c crime
ananalyst onon A&E netetwork's e documementary shshow, "Livive"
If y you watchch "Live PD," y you're gogonna
know thehe person n I'm inteterg todaday on "PDPD Storieses"
It's's Sergeanant Denverer Levt ofof the Jefeffersonvivill,
InIndiana, p police dedepartm.
WhWhile manyny might k know Sergeantnt Leveretett
and his s canine p partner,, Flexex, from w watching g the ,
todaday we're e gonna learn n about otother dogss
that havave been b by Leverers side in n his carereer,
and d how one e saved hihis l.
AnAnd he's g gonna givive usus insightht into hohow e
became t the humanan lie detet.
DEDENVER: GoGood to sesee you .
TOM: G Good to s see you..
Now,w, what mamade you d dece to go o into lawaw enforcecem?
DENVER: : My decisision wass basesed off seseveral fafact.
My fatheher is a retirered firefifighter.
MyMy uncle i is a retired d police c chief,
soso public c servicee was inin my blooood.
But itit actualllly hihit me perersonally.y.
My b best frieiend was m murdd duriring a drurug deal i in 2.
InIn additioion, I've e had seseveral fafamily memember-
auntnts and cocousins---
thatat have susuffered f fromg addidiction reresulting g in d.
SoSo I develeloped a p passn for ininterdictition, narcrco,
doing g this typype of drurug .
And itit's, you u know, cocontd the fifire 18 yeyears latet.
TOM: Andnd you knonow, I'veve watcheded you
on this s show foror many monthshs, and I I had no i i.
I didn't't know anany of that bacackstory t there.
WhWhat did y you becomome an of?
DENVER: : The veryry begiginning ofof 2001.
I gradaduated frfrom Indiaia UnUniversityty in '99 9 wih
my degegree in c criminal l ju, and d then I a applied a ands
hirered at thehe beginnining o.
TOM:M: What wawas the Academy y experienence like?
DENVERER: It wasas militarary-.
ItIt was a l lot diffeferet than colollege.
And it i instilleded disciplp.
I I had thatat growingng up, bt was a vevery good d experiene.
ItIt was 12 2 weeks lolong.
And d basicalllly rereceived t the classssrom
part, , in additition to t theu knowow, physicical aspecect o.
But t it was a a very good expxperience,e,
and d a lot ofof good mememos and frfriends memet there..
TOTOM: Do yoyou remembmber yr first t day on t the streee?
DENVERER: I do.. I dodo.
I I was in f field trarainingd actutually gotot in a fofoot pu.
Still l rememberer it like it t was yeststerday.
TOTOM: On yoyour firstst day onon the jobob?
DEDENVER: OnOn my firsrst nighd I I was likeke a fish h out of .
I didndn't know w what I w was .
BuBut I justst tried t to mamaintain m my compososur.
And you u don't nenecessarily hahave that t fear thehen,
the e first daday on thehe j.
But lilike I saiaid, 18 years s later, m married w wh
a 2-and-d-1/2-yearar-old now, it't's like, , you know,
this i is a deadadly occupupa.
TOM: Didid you catatch him??
DENVNVER: Yes,s, we did.d. We didid.
Thanankfully, , I had some assssistance,e,
but t realizeded kind ofof hot of s shape I w was at ththat p.
TOM: Anyny other h highlight memoriries from m your rooookie?
DEDENVER: NoNot necessssariy from m my rookieie year,
but sosoon therereafter, t ty had a vavacancy inin the K9 9 .
And thatat's alwayays beenen my passssion.
Nobody a applied f for it.
And ababout a yeyear into o e job, I a applied f for it.
I was ththe only c candidate, anand the chchief pulllled me e
anand said, , you knowow, we e a a two-yearar minimumum reque
to g get into o the unitit.
SoSo if I puput you inin, ththere's nono you getetting .
And I I gave himim my wordr.
Still l honor ththat 18 yeyears.
And d I was alalmost kililld during a a trafficic stop
withth two indndividualsls we a guy y tried toto grab mymy .
And I I had to u use the door p pop on mymy belt,
and d my dog s saved my y li.
SoSo it was s a lot ofof scy incidedences witithin the e ft
yeyear or twtwo of lawaw enforc.
AnAnd it jusust seems s to ststeadily g get worsese.
TOM:M: There's's a lot o of reresponsibibility thahat cos
withth being a a K9 offificer, ?
DENVER: : Yes.
You're t typicallyly the firt onone througugh the dodoor.
AnAnd you knknow, he i is a totool of lalaw enforcrceme.
HeHe's not p perfect, , but s veryry good atat what hehe d.
But t you're a always ththe fifirst one e called u upo.
AnAnd the waway I lookok at i, I I have to o put the e traig
ininto it, b because I I have r ofofficers' ' lives atat ri,
anand I needed to makeke surere that ththey go hohoe
at nightht to theieir familil.
So therere's a lotot investetn K9 Flex,x, and hisis trainin.
TOM: We e love watatching K9 flex w work on " "Live PD.D"
How w old is f flex?
DENVERER: He is s 5 anand 1/2 yeyears old,d,
anand I've h had him 4 and 1/1/2 years.s.
He's a D Dutch shehepherd.
He's a a brindlele.
AnAnd he's a actuallyy my f fourth cacanine.
TOM: Thehe first t time youu cameme to New w York witith ,
he was j just an i immediate hit whwhen peoplple
saw hihim in thehe studio o wi.
He's j just realally, really i intense w when
he's's in a vevehicle searchching, andnd he, youou ,
hitsts on and d indicatete.
AnAnd how lolong did it take e to trainin
hihim to be e that typype of c?
DENVERER: So whehen we geget our cacanines,
theyey're whatat you cacall greenen dogs.
They havave a ballll drive and a a bite dririve.
AnAnd then w when we train n them to o get themm
toto the mininimum statandas to pasass the tetest,
I woululd say apapproximataty ththree montnths, fiveve days a,
maybe a a couple h hours a d .
And whwhat you s see in K9K9 F-
it's's my belilief that t t alall goes d down leasash,
is w what we s say as canine h handlers.s.
I'm m a very O OCD, analal, tytype-A perersonalityty.
InIn my job,b, I strivive for r perfectition.
And whenen I trainin him, II try y to implelement intnto .
Thatat's maybebe one ofof my downwnfalls,
but I ththink thatat it shows inin his pererformance.
And yoyou know, , I tatake pridede in thatat.
TOM:M: Explainin what itit ms to be e a dual-p-purpose c ca.
DEDENVER: SoSo a dudual-purpopose caninine--
one aspepect is nanarcotics.
AnAnd he's a a passiveve alt narcoticic detectition dog,,
which h means hehe alerts s oe odors s of marijijuana, cococ,
methamamphetaminine, and h he.
And thenen his othther asaspect of f law enfoforcemt
is cririminal apapprehensisi.
So he dodoes bite,e, only when h he's commmmanded
to do o so, excecept fofor one scscenario,,
and ththat is hahandler prprote.
So if f I have h him out o f ththe vehiclcle and mamaybe
I'm m patting g down numumers subjecects, but t if one o ofm
hits me,e, he willll engagee the e suspect t without t beg
instructcted to dodo so. TOM: Reaeally.
DENVNVER: And d they're e a bibite-and-h-hold caninine,
and ththen we hahave to do eveverything g off-leadd
withth verbal l commandsds o.
So I c can tell l him to d dise withth just onone commanan,
and he w will compmply.
TOM: Canan you expxplain ththe ball a and bite e dri,
as farar as the e trainingg for cacanine goeoes?
DEDENVER: SoSo when I say y ball dririve,
every cacanine hasas their o , what we e call, ththe substite
fofor their r prey artrticl.
I use e the tennnnis balll for r his narcrcotics.
And thisis is hiss drivive satisfsfaction
for hihis hunt d drive.
So we e use the e tennis b bl during t the narcocotics.
And ththen when n I talk about t his preyey drive,,
his s hunt insnstinct, that's's more didirected
towardrds crimininal apprprehensionon-- the m ma.
So t there's t two didifferent t aspects s whn
I talk a about thehe dual-pupue aspectct of caninine.
TOM: Nowow that particicular traraining,
the crimiminal apprehenension traraining,
thatat's a spepecific other r set of l lessons
ththat you h have to t teah over a p period ofof time.
How lolong did i it take t tot him trtrained toto that lelel
of c criminall apprehehension e efficiencn?
DENVERER: So likike when II get hihim from o overseas-s-
and hehe came frfrom Hollala.
He's a D Dutch shepherdrd, like I I said.
HeHe has whahat we call a b bite drivive,
soso he willll bite ththe bite .
WeWe incorpoporate thehe bite s suit, whihich
thenen leads i into the e hin sleeve d during trtraining..
And ththen the l last facect of a aggressioion controrol-
is whahat we calall it dururg trainingng-- is mumuzzle wor.
ThThat's whehere you t take out all l of the e equipment,
anand it's j just man n agains.
And d you knowow, when I I tk about ththis threeee months,
numerorous hoursrs a day,, fiveve days a a week,
thatat's just t the barere mim stanandards toto certifyfy h.
AnAnd then a after thahat, wee toto do scenenario-basased tra.
SoSo his lasast two apprehehensions s were actctuy
inin attics s of resididencs with indndividualsls
that w were wantnted on fefey charges s that wououldn't coco.
And wewe have anan attic deployoyment sysystem.
And you u know, ifif you nevr trtrain thatat, you cacan't
expect a a canine e to perfofo.
But t I've beeeen blessesed wit.
We do trtrain it..
And d he's pererformed r remar.
TOM: N Now, whenen you senet hihim into t the atticic,
he g goes up t there by y himf intoto the attttic alonene?
Or are y you rightht behind d?
DENVNVER: So w what we d do ie have a an attic c deploymement ,
and he i is actualally in a harnrness, andnd I havee
a pupulley sysystem withth ro.
And d we shimmmmy him up intnto the atattic,
and d we have e a rip cord t that we p pull.
ThThen he drdrops intoto the e rafters,s, and hee
will a actually y search t the .
I'll s stay in t the room m b.
And ththen when n he gegets a humuman odor,r,
he will l bark if f he can't get t to the s suspect..
But ifif he can,n, then he wilill bite a and hold..
So w what I lilike to dodo is, fofor safetyty reasonsn,
I'llll have hihim clearr the e immediatate area
and thenen deploy y him down the lelength of f the housu,
and d then I'l'll go up.p.
And evererything's's done ofoff.
And itit's actuaually-- ann attitic is a v very hardrd
scenarario becauause of ththe .
You u have thehe insulatati.
ThThat doesnsn't breatathe w.
It's's very hohot.
ThThere's wiwires, andnd woodd itit's a tacactical ninightm.
TOM:M: Does hehe have hihis n Twitteter handlele now, I I t?
DENVNVER: Wellll, actualallyI don't t do any s social meme.
I wawas inundadated withth .
But mymy mother,r, his grandmotother, actctually
is resesponsiblele for hisis ac.
And he i is the momost social caninine I've e had out t of th.
HeHe's very y good witith y 2-2-and-1/2-2-year-oldld so.
AnAnd at homome, even n in e studio, , you lookok at himm
and you u wouldn't't think he's a a dual-pupurpose cacan.
So he alalso doess crimiminal apppprehensioio,
anand he's s so socialal and d mild-manannered,
but t you knowow, at a l lit switch, , he'll dodo his job.