MUST WATCH: Nate Eaton volunteers to be ‘apprehended’ by police K9 during training

IDAHO FALLS — Police K9 dogs are a valuable and effective tool in helping local officers solve crimes.

At EastIdahoNews.com, we wanted to find out exactly how police handlers and K9 work together to solve crimes. So we reached out to the Idaho Falls Police Department and asked them for a first hand demonstration. This morning, we learned just how effective those K9 units can be.

Idaho Falls Police use two-year-old Rocky, a Belgium Malinois, all the time in drug and criminal apprehension cases. Rocky has been working with his handler, officer Gabe Klepich for the past six months.

On Thursday, Jan. 14, the duo demonstrated Rocky’s skills in apprehending suspects and finding drugs at a local park. This reporter agreed to be apprehended by Rocky, while the EastIdahoNews.com cameras rolled.

First, Klepich hid a packet of drugs underneath the back bumper of a vehicle. Rocky was released and he located the drugs in less than a minute.

“It’s like a game of hide-and-seek to Rocky,” Klepich said. “He has a really strong drive and is determined to get the job done.”

After the drug exercise, I agreed to act as a “criminal” who Rocky needed to apprehend. I put on an 80 pound bite suit for the exercise as Klepich prepared me for the training.

“You won’t feel Rocky’s bite, but you might feel pressure, pinching and you might get bruises,” Klepich said. “There will be an adrenaline dump.”

Klepich had some rules for me:

• 1. Once Rocky bites the suit, I need to keep moving so the dog doesn’t release and bite somewhere else.
• 2. I need to keep my hands inside the sleeves curled up – so my hands don’t accidentally pop out.
• 3. Relax.

After suiting up, I attempted to run into an open field and Rocky was released.

In about 30 seconds, Rocky had latched onto the elbow portion of my bite suit.

He continued to pull as I kept moving. Eventually, I ended up down on the ground with Rocky still holding firm. It seemed like forever until Klepich came to remove the dog from the bite suit. In reality, it was less than two minutes.

The exercise was so much more physically tiring than I thought it would be. I was exhausted when we were done and felt like I had run a marathon.

Police K9 dogs, like Rocky, have solved an untold number of crimes and they help keep us safe. Hopefully you never have an up close and personal encounter with one.

Click the video at the top of the article for a more complete story on how the exercise went.