Tulsa World: Dogs with a job

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Dogs with a job
The canines found drugs in 80 percent of the vehicles they searched, records show.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol drug dogs like Turbo, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, check an average of one car a day, according to a Tulsa World review of usage reports from 2008. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World

By CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer
Published: 11/8/2009 2:19 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2009 3:53 AM

Once a day on average, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol drug dog walks around a vehicle that has been stopped for a traffic violation.

Sometimes the dog has been deployed because the driver declined a request by the trooper to search the vehicle for drugs. Other times the trooper, in the interest of time, will deploy the dog without asking the driver.

If the dog senses one of the illegal drugs it has been trained to detect — marijuana, heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine — the animal will signal to its handler.

Sometimes the dog will try to get as close as it can to the smell, even jumping through an open window if possible.

Such details about drug dog searches were included in records obtained earlier this year by the Tulsa World from the Department of Public Safety. The World obtained the records as a result of a 2001 lawsuit that was settled earlier this year.

A World review of more than 300 OHP drug dog usage reports from 2008 indicates:

OHP dogs detected drugs in 80 percent of the vehicles they searched.

In 39 percent of the stops in which a dog detected drugs, no narcotics were found.

Sometimes the dogs find large amounts of drugs, but most often the amount is small, sometimes described as "personal use" amounts or just "residue."

White motorists stood a lesser chance of being searched, but were more likely to be found with drugs compared with Hispanics.

One longtime critic of the use of drug dogs says the state has operated for years under a flawed drug dog certification process.

Dogs cashing in

With three major interstate highways crisscrossing the state, law enforcement officials have long said Oklahoma is a major thoroughfare for drug trafficking.

To combat traffickers, troopers from the OHP special operations unit look for drug couriers while patrolling Interstates 44, 40 and 35 in addition to other highways such as U.S. 69 in southeastern Oklahoma.

In 2008, the special operations unit made 217 interdictions and seized nearly 2 tons of marijuana, 90 pounds of cocaine, 13 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 18 pounds of heroin. The unit also seized an estimated $10.7 million in cash linked to drug trafficking, according to OHP records.

Of that amount, nearly $4 million in cash was attributed to finds made by drug dogs, according to a World analysis of drug dog use records.

Half of the $4 million total attributed to OHP drug dog searches was seized during one traffic stop in March 2008 along I-40 near El Reno.

Other cash amounts seized in 2008 following drug dog searches ranged from $4,500 to $386,000.

Troopers decide on a case-by-case basis whether to use a drug dog during a traffic stop, said OHP Lt. Brett Key.

"There's a lot of different things that goes into it, but a majority of the time it's when we are refused consent (to search the vehicle)," Key said.

Of the 330 times that a drug dog was utilized in 2008 for OHP traffic stops, the animal indicated the presence of drugs in 80 percent of the searches, a World review of usage records shows.

Drugs and large sums of cash associated with drug trafficking were not always found in cases where a dog indicated their presence. In fact, drugs were not located in 39 percent of the dog-initiated searches, a World analysis indicates.

"There's times when the dog will alert and we don't find anything," Key said.

Key said just because an officer doesn't find drugs when a dog alerts, that doesn't mean the animal was wrong.

Sometimes the dog is smelling a residual odor after drugs have been used or transported in a vehicle, he said.

"Well, those dogs have super-sensitive noses and can still pick that up," Key said.

Large amounts of drugs or cash were found in 17 percent of the dog-initiated searches.

"If we stop them and they only have that personal use, then, hey, you know what, we'll take it, because whether they are using at the time or later on they are still a threat to the public," Key said.

A World analysis of the race of the drivers found that OHP drug dogs were more likely to be used to search vehicles driven by Hispanics and blacks than white drivers.

Hispanic and black drivers comprised 23 percent and 24 percent, respectively, of the vehicles in which the OHP conducted dog-initiated searches in 2008. Hispanics and blacks each comprise 7 percent to 8 percent of the total state population.

The OHP, meanwhile, was more likely to find drugs or cash among whites and blacks, about 65 percent of the cases, than among Hispanics, where narcotics or cash were found in 52 percent of the drug-initiated searches.

Key says the OHP does not profile drivers.

"That's something that's out of our control as far as who has it and if we are in the middle of a stop and whether they are white, black, Hispanic or Asian and there are criminal indicators or they are not being honest with us that raises flags with us," Key said.

"But anymore you can't profile per se because it doesn't discriminate anymore," Key said, referring to drug traffickers. "If you are profiling, you are missing it."

Standards changed

Meanwhile, an Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney said he has been challenging the OHP and other agencies for years on their use of drug dogs.

Doug Parr, a former president of the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said drugs dogs can be accurate at finding illegal substances.

"A well-trained drug dog is something that is astonishing to see work," Parr said.

But Parr says drug dogs in Oklahoma haven't been properly certified for years.

"I have not found a single case in the six or seven years that I have been working on this where any dog has ever been presented, for certification testing, a situation where they knew there were no drugs present," Parr said.

Such information is important, Parr said, to ensure a dog is not alerting when in fact drugs are not present.

Parr maintains that the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, the state agency responsible for certifying all drug detection dogs, has not been following its own rules when it comes to licensing the animals for use in the field.

Parr said he challenged a CLEET certification requirement that limited drug dogs to a "false response" rate of not more than 20 percent.

"Their response to the fact that every drug dog in the state of Oklahoma did not meet the certification rules that they had set up was to change the rules," Parr said.

Indeed, records on CLEET's Web site indicate drug dog certification standards changed in July.

The changes included removing a requirement that a drug dog score an 80 percent or higher "find" rate and not more than a 20 percent "false response" rate.

Now a drug dog becomes certified after it "passes the certification test," Parr said.

CLEET spokesman Steve Emmons said the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs administers the drug dog certification tests. CLEET licenses 320 to 350 dogs and their handlers during an average year, Emmons said.

CLEET changed the rules regarding dog certification testing to align with Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs testing protocol, Emmons said.

"The state statutes designate that CLEET will be the licensing agency for drug dogs, and as such we don't do the test," Emmons said. "We rely upon OBNDD to do the testing for it, and we license it."

Curtis Killman 581-8471
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com By CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Webmeister, Tulsa (11/8/2009 5:24:42 AM) A 39% false-positive rate? Drug dogs must be alerting on Popeye's Chicken..... "If we stop them and they only have that personal use, then, hey, you know what, we'll take it, because whether they are using at the time or later on they are still a threat to the public," Key said. A Threat to the Public?
	Report Comment Tony G, Tulsa (11/8/2009 7:02:11 AM) Can they be sued for wasting my time? Suppose the dogs thinks he found something, and the officers don't find anything, does the motorist at least get an apology?
	Report Comment Travelin Man, tulsa (11/8/2009 7:53:14 AM) They will need a search warrant to check my car.
	Report Comment Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/8/2009 8:42:22 AM) Travelin Man, better check the clause of "reasonable suspicion"...
	Report Comment Sarge776, Tulsa (11/8/2009 8:52:04 AM) Webmeister, Tulsa (11/8/2009 5:24:42 AM) A 39% false-positive rate? Drug dogs must be alerting on Popeye's Chicken..... "If we stop them and they only have that personal use, then, hey, you know what, we'll take it, because whether they are using at the time or later on they are still a threat to the public," Key said. A Threat to the Public? Personal consumption could attribute to a charge of driving while under the influence of drugs if they are driving and "smoking or inhaling or shooting up".
	Report Comment DaBirdman, (11/8/2009 11:20:36 AM) Still ok to fly a helicopter though if even you lose your d/l for DWI
	Report Comment sirwinston, (11/8/2009 11:45:59 AM) Well I think it violates the constitution but people think it is good and they are willing to forget what the constitution says if they feel it makes them safer. The average person has no idea what the constitution is, let alone the average kid in high school. I smoke Pot all the time. It helps me with anxiety. I don't have to take medication any more and it's much more effective than the medicine I was taking. Pot hasn't been known to kill anyone. In fact, there are so many people in Oklahoma that smoke Pot that it's unreal. People I didn't know smoke, smoke. Cigarettes kill millions each year and yet it's still legal and tax payers foot the bill for health care. Liquor kills millions as well via drunk driving. Again, Pot hasn't been shown to kill anyone. Im all for Cocaine being illegal as well as Meth, but come on, Pot? I can't believe I read in the Tulsa World the other day that a man was sentenced to life in prison for growing pot in Miami. So now we spend 50k a year to keep him in prison for a victim less crime. We have such a screwed up system.
	Report Comment Kilgore.Trout, Tulsa (11/8/2009 12:17:32 PM) Sir Winston, "I think we need to just start shooting and killing the state troopers when they cross the line." Put down the bong for a second and think about what you wrote. That is insane!! IMO pot should not be illegal. Have known many people that have had to find it for loved one's undergoing chemo therapy. They said it greatly helped them. Do not see any reason for it to be a criminal offense. Sending people to prison for pot is insane. They need to arrest and incarcerate real felons who comit crimes against society. Get the muggers, robbers, and thieves and worse!
	Report Comment SpeakFreakinEnglish, sallisaw (11/8/2009 12:33:47 PM) Sirwinston, I really do believe you need to go and get your head examined..Because you sound like someone who has some issues...My uncle was a trooper, down here in Sequoyah County, and he was shot and killed in the line of duty, trying to protect us from stupid drug dealers...Personally i believe that what you wrote is majorly a malfunction in your way of thinking... Ya need to think about what you write before you type
	Report Comment SpeakFreakinEnglish, sallisaw (11/8/2009 12:35:23 PM) DaBirdman.. That subject is old.. no need to bring that back up again!! LOL!! Next....
	Report Comment fld11, (11/8/2009 3:26:09 PM) This is a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money. When they're not beating people up for no reason, they're letting dogs tear up their vehicles. I don't think so. These so called troopers need to just do their jobs - "highway" patrol. No bomb squad, dogs, unmarked cars, etc. This is not a military operation even though they're Army wannabees.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (11/8/2009 4:05:02 PM) Good doggie, good dogie.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (11/8/2009 4:07:04 PM) Winston, you lack any common decency let alone sense. Moronic statements like yours need to be reported so they can kick your sorry butt off.
	Report Comment Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/8/2009 4:16:08 PM) winston, I don't care what you do in the privacy of your home, behind your doors. I don't however, want any impressionable young children to read your ignorant comments. And yes, they are on this website.
	Report Comment Whirled Peas, (11/8/2009 5:22:38 PM) 90 percent of paper currency has traces of Cocaine, and when the dog finds it, OHP keeps it simply because a "drug dog" found it. Highway robbery?
	Report Comment Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/8/2009 6:43:21 PM) Whirled Peas, the arresting trooper only gets a 10% cut of the money, so don't blame him or her. just kiddin........
	Report Comment scooter2, (11/8/2009 7:53:02 PM) I hope none of the dogs get layed off, sounds like they're doing a good job!!
	Report Comment Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/8/2009 8:39:26 PM) The TPD canine corps was forced into a one day a month furlough of dog food. Rumor has it that the dogs are negotiating with the city through the Fraternal Order of Police Canines (FOPc) to give up their take-home dog chew toys.
	Report Comment FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (11/8/2009 9:59:07 PM) I have seen these dogs at work. And I can say it really is an impressive sight to see.
	Report Comment SoonerDJ, Lisbon, Portugal (11/9/2009 4:35:19 AM) I don't see a problem with these dog searches. That is, as long as they do not damage my car. If a dang dog is on my hood or roof and scratch it I will expect the government to pay for the new paint job.
	Report Comment AshleyJones, Kiefer (11/9/2009 7:49:29 AM) If you dont have anything to hide, then you dont have anything to worry about. If the trooper thinks that you have something, and you dont, then why would you deny a search to begin with? And a waste of tax money? I dont know about you, but I dont want to share the streets with people high on all these different drugs!! And, not only that, but these dogs are trained in many different areas. If you child, parent, family member, or friend goes missing, its these dogs that are going to spend hours upon hours searching for them! Dog, trooper, whatever it may be, I support and am thankful for those willing to risk it all for my safety!!
	Report Comment scooter2, (11/9/2009 9:59:35 AM) I think it's time they quit treating them like dogs and give them a few more bones!!

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