Stryker Police Chief Schlosser and Sergeant Mendez spoke to the Stryker Rotary briefly the Stryker Police Department. The chief said the department has experienced many ups and downs during the last year. One of the challenges for the department has been to learn how to do more with less. The overall budget to operate the department has been cut, but he knows the village has been forced to make many other cuts as well. One area of concern has been the training budget for the officers. The village currently is staffed with mostly part-time officers and many of them have acquired much of their training on their own. Chief Schlosser said the department belongs to a law enforcement consortium for training that is held at Owens Community College. This membership has helped to hold down some of the training costs. Sergeant Mendez also spoke to the club about some of his experiences as a handler for a canine unit. The name of the dog he handles is Ragan. Ragan began his training as a border patrol dog and was offered to a handler in a neighboring community. The handler took another assignment and offered Ragan to Sergeant Mendez. Sergeant Mendez was able to get the proper training and certification as a dog handler and the unit works out of the Stryker Police Department. He took the required 120 hour course at his own expense. Ragan is seven years old and trained as a narcotics dog as well as a tracking dog. The two officers spoke as a guest of Stryker Rotary Member Terry Wieland. Pictured from left to right are Ragan, Sergeant Mendez, Chief Schlosser, and Terry Wieland.
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