AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Police Department’s ranks have increased more over the past year than they have in a decade.
Last spring, 45 recruits graduated from the city’s first police academy in 12 years, followed by a dozen more police brought on to boost community patrols and bring relief from Akron’s rising tide of gun violence.
This month, four more officers — with striking abilities and the names to match — quietly hit the Akron streets.
Mando, Bosch, Bruno and Lobo are K-9 officers who have been training with their human handler police officers for weeks. The dogs’ skills and instincts have been honed to make them members of finely tuned teams designed to reduce crime and boost community relations, police say.
Working with Excel K-9 in Hiram Township, Ohio, Akron’s K-9 program recently graduated four K-9 teams: James Ledbetter and Lobo, John Turneure and Bruno, Devin Ray and Mando, and Mike Bruvarny and Bosch.
The new teams, trained in multiple policing skills, join two existing K-9 teams, and two narcotics K-9 teams, the department said.
Unlike years ago when K-9 teams were often “weaponized” and operated as dedicated units for law enforcement agencies, Akron’s K-9 teams are assigned patrol shifts and respond to calls in which their specialized skills can be used, said Lt. Michael Miller, department spokesman.
“Our goal, for many years now … is to just get out more into the neighborhoods, into the communities, letting the community meet them, letting them meet us, getting to know them, to build relationships,” Miller said.
In their first days on the streets, both Mando and Bosch got to help patrol and exercise their special skills, their handlers say.
Mando, a year-old Belgian Malinois who Ray named after the “Star Wars” character “Mandalorian,” helped the officers on traffic stops, and got to search for a substance thrown from a vehicle during a pursuit, Ray said.
“That was an opportunity for me to get my dog out and show the other officers what he's capable off, how he searches for drugs or whatever might have been thrown from the vehicle,” Ray said.
Bosch, a German shepherd Bruvarny named after Harry Bosch, a detective featured in a popular book and a television series, got to help officers on a domestic violence call. The K-9 team was able to help draw a suspect out of a barricaded room without incident, Bruvarny said.
“Just by the presence of the dog, just him being there, was awesome,” he said. “Dogs are a great community asset.”
Originally from Strongsville, Bruvarny, 31, has been an Akron cop for nearly seven years. Before becoming an officer, he attended Ohio Dominican University in Columbus on a football scholarship.
But from a young age, he knew what he wanted to do with his life, he said. So, after two years, he quit college to join the Army, which he served for six years.
“I wanted to serve my country and I wanted to serve my community,” Bruvarny said.
He’s also a dog lover, so once he became a police officer, he set his sights on becoming a K-9 handler. To that end, Bruvarny helped the other K-9 teams train, serving as a decoy or setting traps - whatever he could do, he said.
The K-9 class is a welcome addition, Bruvarny said, as Akron officers had been asking for more dogs for some time.
With a spike in Akron gun violence last summer, and widespread community unrest, the K-9 units are a powerful asset, he said.
“Times are bad right now and not everyone likes the police,” he said. “But dogs are man’s and woman’s best friend. Just having them around is great community relations.”
Ray, who conducted his University of Akron internship in the police department’s community relations division, said he looks forward to that aspect of his work as part of the K-9 team.
Raised in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood, Ray, 28, has been an Akron officer for four years. He initially trained to become a firefighter, but after about a year, he realized he wanted to be a police officer and changed course.
Ray, like Bruvarny, is also a dog lover and wanted to become a K-9 handler. With few opportunities to join a K-9 team, Ray finally got the chance after a veteran handler moved on to the Akron detective bureau, he said.
To be chosen for the K-9 teams, applicants go through an in-depth vetting process that involves a series of interviews, a written essay, and a physical obstacle course, Ray said. The K-9s live with the handler’s family, so the process also includes a site visit to ensure the home facilities are appropriate for the dog.
Once chosen, the teams undergo 10 weeks of intensive training, followed by weekly training, he said.
Ray already has a 90-pound Doberman named Draco, so the process to acclimate the dogs at home is is underway. The difference between the animals is notable, Ray said.
“The difference in their attitudes, a difference in their drive, the difference in how fast they learn things,” he said. “Because Dobermans are smart dogs as well, but how fast Mando caught on to things, it still amazes me.”
Both officers say they look forward to introducing the dogs to the community.
Bruvarny, who left midnights to work afternoons, says he has many options.
“I plan on going to the schools, whether it be demonstrations or to interact with the children and saying 'Hi,' or going to community meetings where there are a lot of people that actually care about the city and want to do good things,” he said. “I didn't necessarily always see the best people working midnights. But now that I'm on the afternoon shift, I want to be there for the people. I want to show them that we care and we want to make this place better."
Ray said he wants the community to know that the K-9s aren’t vicious.
“I think these canines have a bad (stigma). That these dogs are crazy and they bite everybody and that's all they know; they smell drugs and bite people,” he said. “That's not the case, you know. He's pretty much just a dog who goes to work with me.”
Ray said residents should not be afraid to approach the team when they are out in the community.
The K-9 officers live with their handlers’ families until they retire to become house dogs, a transition that varies by dog, Ray said.
“Some dogs I've seen retire at the age of six,” Ray said. “There's a dog on the street now that still can keep up with everybody and she's 13 years old, I believe.”
It is the handler’s job to make that call, he said.
“It's your job as a handler to understand and read your dog, and if he's having trouble getting up into the car, or you just know that he's not really interested in it anymore,” he said.
The police department hosts K-9 demonstrations throughout the year. Visit the Akron Police website or its Facebook page to learn more.