by Kate Shunney
Morgan County Sheriff Johnnie Walter last month talked with County Commissioners about the possibility of adding a K-9 officer back to the Sheriff’s Department in the future.
Sheriff Walter said he wanted to get a sense of whether county officials would be on board with the move before he researched costs and details further.
The Sheriff’s Department has had a K-9 officer in the past, but not in recent years.
Commissioner Bill Clark asked if Walter had prepared a budget for a K-9 addition to the department, which he had not yet.
“It’s a great use for the opioid funds,” said Sheriff Walter, referring to the money given to Morgan County as part of the settlement of the mass litigation against opioid distributors who fuels the state’s addiction crisis.
Sheriff Walter said a K-9 would require an officer to be trained as a handler, for the dog to be trained for drug detection or even searching for missing persons, plus certain equipment for the dog to be transported in a police vehicle, in addition to medical care and food for the K-9.
Walter listed other required equipment, training and costs that he would confirm and list for county officials to review.
“Speaking for myself, I love the idea,” said Commissioner Sean Forney.
Commissioner Clark said he understands the value of a K-9, but asked the Sheriff, “What does it do for you?”
“We can scan on a car for drugs and it gives us probable cause for a legal search,” said Sheriff Walter.
He said he would have a K-9 that was trained to be non-aggressive and to sit, not scratch, when drugs were detected.
Sheriff Walter said he would probably not have a K9 trained to detect marijuana, since the legal status of it continues to change in the areas around West Virginia, and eventually could become legal here.
“When D.C. and Virginia legalized, they had to get rid of the dogs because they were trained to alert on it,” said Walter.
He said he would prepare an estimated budget for adding the K-9 and present it during the county’s budget preparation meetings for the 2027 Fiscal Year, coming up this month.
Commission President Joel Tuttle said if the Sheriff would pursue the addition, most of the upfront costs could come from the county’s opioid settlement funds.