Cincinnati | “Tacoma”

Tacoma is a Belgian Malinois that began with the Cincinnati Police Department in the fall of 2015. Tacoma was purchased by The Matt Haverkamp Foundation, while Toyota provided the resources for Tacoma’s identification and training. Tacoma works with Officer Michael Bricker.

Tacoma is a dual purpose dog: patrol work and drug detection. The patrol work includes tracking and apprehending criminals, building and area searches and article searches for evidence and weapons. He is also trained for detecting a variety of narcotics, such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana, in automobiles, public buildings and houses. In his first few weeks on the job, Tacoma found a hidden illegal semi-automatic pistol with “cop killer” ammunition inside, which potentially saved officer lives. Then, he found almost $400,000 in drug dealer money along with an illegally built assault rifle that helped in the arrest of a drug dealer.