By BOB SHRAUKA
WZBD.com
A fracture in a foot has cost the Decatur Police Department one of its K-9 handlers and the department is again facing a soon-to-be shorthanded situation.
Police Chief Kevin Gerber told city council at its recent meeting that officer Luke Rumschlag, who was the department’s latest K-9 handler, suffered a fracture in his foot or ankle last March while training with a new dog.
So Rumschlag is stepping down from the post of K-9 handler. He is on desk duty at this time.
The chief noted that the department’s newest officers, Luke Roby and Joseph Collier, will be heading to the state police academy in August for training.
So the department will be without those two officers, Rumschlag will be on light duty, and, Gerber said, another officer is contemplating another job.
So with that, and the fact that the next K-9 training session will come up while Collier and Roby are gone, Gerber said there is no use picking another K-9 handler at this time.
He also pointed out that the K-9 Rumschlag was training with is biding his time in a kennel. Allen County has offered to take the animal, Gerber said.
The K-9 is “workable, it’s trainable, and it’s not fair to the dog to be sitting around in a kennel,” he remarked in asking council for its approval to allow Allen County to take the dog.
“We’re not going to be out a lot of money,” the chief noted.
Unanimous approval was given.
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