In the fall of 2008, the Cheviot Police Department started its first K9 Unit with the help of The Matt Haverkamp Foundation. On October 27, 2008, Sergeant Jeff Patton met his new partner, Charlie – a 1 year old German Shepherd from Slovakia. A week later the duo began training and after four months, Charlie and Sergeant Patton were certified for the first time.

In May of 2009, Charlie and Sergeant Patton were called in to work a vehicle pursuit with 4 robbery suspects. The suspects crashed their vehicle and all of them fled from the scene. 3 of the suspects were located and arrested by pursuing units. 90 minutes after the pursuit of the first 3 suspects ended, Charlie was able to track down the forth suspect, whom was hiding behind a garage. This was Charlie’s first apprehension.

In June of 2009, the duo responded to a robbery at a business on Glenway Avenue. After a 20 minute track in the parking lot, through woods, and into a yard, Charlie found all the money from the business as well as the clothing that the suspect was wearing during the robbery. The investigators were able to get DNA off of the clothing and a suspect was arrested 1 year later, eventually pleading guilty to the robbery.

As a team, Charlie and Sergeant Patton have been deployed approximately 600 times as of March 2015. They have had numerous narcotic finds with the largest being 6 pounds of marijuana. Charlie has also made more than 30 suspect apprehensions.

“Charlie has been a huge asset to the City of Cheviot Police Department. He is a very social dog and loves the attention. Thanks to Charlie, the public relations in Cheviot between the community and the police department have been very positive,” shared Sergeant Patton. “Without the help from The Matt Haverkamp Foundation, Cheviot’s K9 Unit may not exist.”