POLICE K9S GET PROTECTIVE DUDS.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- Who're the dogs who won't cop out when there's danger all about?

At the Glendale Police Department, that would be crook-nabbing K9s Marlin, Quwai, Sam and Yudy. And now they're bulletproof.

Body armor went to the dogs -- one credited with the biggest opium bust in the department's history last week -- after an anonymous donor gave the Glendale police nearly $4,000 for four canine Kevlar vests, one for each German shepherd. The vests, modeled by Sam and Marlin at a news conference Monday, wrap around the canines' torsos and can stop knives and 9 mm bullets.

``The dogs are placed at a position of risk that are as significant as our officers,'' Police Chief Randy G. Adams said. ``We think it's only fair that if we send them in, they get the best protection.''

Police reinstated the K9 unit in September, thanks to more than $200,000 from a Department of Homeland Security grant and the Glendale Citizens for Law and Order, a police booster group.

The program had been shuttered for more than a decade because of liability concerns, police spokesman Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

``They were more aggressive,'' he said. ``These dogs are trained to find and bark.''

Adams said the donor was prompted to help when a Long Beach police K9 named Ranger was shot and killed in October while pursuing a parolee.

``It's becoming more prevalent for departments to use body armor for the dogs,'' said Pat Gros, spokeswoman for the National Police Canine Association, a nonprofit group that trains and certifies police dogs. ``It's getting more violent out there, and it's important for the department to secure that investment.''

Glendale is among a handful of local law enforcement agencies equipped with canine body armor. Simi Valley puts vests on dogs when they are dealing with known armed suspects. The LAPD and Long Beach have gone without.

Long Beach spokesman Sgt. David Cannan, a former dog handler, said the department experimented with vests in the late 1980s, but they were abandoned because they proved cumbersome.

``On days like today, it overheats the dogs really quickly,'' he said. ``If they go underneath a home, they get hung up. We love the idea of some type of ballistic armor, but there are limitations.''

Adams said Glendale police K9s would suit up only if they are pursuing suspects known to be armed.

``We hire these guys because of their noses,'' Cannan said. ``They have more stamina. They have more speed in pursuit. They're a tool we use, but they're an extension of us. ... These dogs become part of the department. They become part of the family.''

Glendale's four K9s graduated from Inglis Police Dog Academy in Oxnard, which also provides police dogs for the Simi Valley and Ventura departments. Owner David Inglis said the dogs can get used to the 10- to 12-pound vest after a few hours.

``It's like putting the saddle on the horse for the very first time,'' he said. ``They get accustomed to it pretty quick.''

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Glendale Police Department canine Sam wears one of the department's new bulletproof canine vests that were purchased by an anonymous donor and displayed by the department Monday.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer