As for other drugs, Patrolman Mike Garber, who handles Simon, said it’s hard to put accurate numbers on the seized amounts because they’re finding a lot of combinations of drugs, such as cocaine and fentanyl together.

They also seized some cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin, but the largest seizure was a compound of fentanyl and carfentanil. A lot of substances tested are coming back as multiple substances.

According to the deployment summary for Simon and Argo, whose partner is Patrolman Steve LaRosa, the two K-9s logged 156 total deployments in 2021, with the majority, 104, for narcotics detection and 52 for patrol deployments to help with building searches, area searches, tracking, evidence recovery and apprehension of suspects.

Garber and K-9 Simon had 50 detection deployments, with 336 search areas, 48 alerts/indications of a narcotic odor and 59 items seized. They had 39 patrol deployments, with 20 people found.

Salem Police K-9 Simon and his handler, Patrolman Mike Garber, take a break during training. Simon had 89 deployments last year, with 50 for drug odor detection. (Photos by Joe Albert, J Albert Studios)

LaRosa and K-9 Argo had 53 detection deployments, with 358 search areas, 47 alerts/indications of a narcotic odor, and 43 items seized. They had 13 patrol deployments, with 28 people found.

According to Garber, the number of documented arrests related to the K-9s was 53. The 2021 report showed the busiest day of the week for deployments was a tie between Thursday and Friday. The busiest month was February with 26 deployments. The busiest week was the last week of August with 12 deployments. He said 49 calls were deployments for outside agencies, such as Perry Township Police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Columbiana County Drug Task Force and the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re successful because everybody works together, including our community that supports us,” Garber said.

He said the K-9 unit as a team includes not just the dogs and handlers, but Chief J.T. Panezott, the city administration, the patrol officers and sergeants on shift. He also counted the community donating to the Salem Police K-9 fund through the Salem Community Foundation and making purchases on the Salem K-9 website or just tuning in to watch Simon Sundays on Facebook Live. He also credited SCF grant coordinator Melissa Costa with all her help regarding both the fund and website.

He said 2021 was an interesting year because they were coming out of 2020 when the K-9s were unable to have community outreach through demonstrations or community events. That’s when Garber launched the Simon Sundays to talk about what they were doing, attracting viewers from across the country and all over the world.

The K-9s also have their own Facebook page and as a result of its popularity, launched the website at spdk9.com in 2021 as a means for more community support, to share what the K-9s and handlers do, how they do it and see who they are. The website includes an online store to purchase K-9 gear, such as tumblers, T-shirts or stickers. All proceeds support the K-9 program, just like the SCF Salem Police department K-9 Fund which was established in 2015.

Both Garber and LaRosa have actively promoted awareness and raised funds to purchase equipment, training, education, and cover medical costs for Salem’s K-9s.

Contributions to the K-9 Fund may be made through the PayPal “Donate Now” button on the K-9 website or by sending a check to: Salem Community Foundation, Attn: SPD K-9 Fund, P.O. Box 553, Salem, Ohio 44460.

“Our community is who supports us and keeps us going,” Garber said, adding they were able to get back out in the community for events in 2021.

He said last year was also good for training, with both he and LaRosa taking courses regarding medical information, legal updates and practical deployment of K-9s. They also did a lot of hands-on training last year, a lot through the Police K-9 Association. Both K-9s turned 6 last year and will celebrate their 7th birthdays this year, Simon in April and Argo in October. He said they’re looking forward to long, healthy careers.

Garber said the group of handlers in the area work well together, specifically mentioning Salem, Columbiana and the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’ve created a good system here in Salem having a K-9 working every day and available for call outs,” he said.

Garber noted on social media Tuesday night that he and Simon were fine after being in a fender bender Tuesday afternoon, but their cruiser sustained some damage. That’s just one example of how they keep the public informed.

“We’re extremely grateful for the community supporting us. We’re thankful for all the support we get from the officers and dispatchers when we go out on calls,” Garber said.

mgreier@salemnews.net