By Mark Bravaco
RED BANK – Most people view dogs as leisure companions – creatures that, unlike us, are free from the constraints of work and spend all their time playing, sniffing around, being petted, cuddling, and – most of all – sleeping.
But some dogs do have to work for a living. And that work can be dangerous.
Hunter and Eko, both Belgian Malinois, have spent the last decade serving as officers in the Red Bank Police K-9 Unit.
On April 12, Hunter and Eko retired from service in a formal ceremony held outside Red Bank Borough Hall that drew a crowd of spectators, including other K-9 officers and their handlers from the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office. Hunter and Eko’s retirement was due to aging and also recent changes made to New Jersey state law.
“A few years ago, the NJ State Attorney General changed the K-9 policy,” explained Red Bank acting Police Chief Capt. Michael Frazee. This “limited when police were allowed to use the K-9s. The change in policy and the legalization of marijuana, which Hunter and Eko were specially trained to detect, “really limits the dogs’ ability to be used effectively,” Frazee said.
Like a human whose role in a company is phased out, “It’s as though their jobs have been taken away from them,” an officer noted.
In late 2020, then-State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced he was changing New Jersey’s Use of Force Policy, which includes when it is acceptable to use K-9s in the line of duty.
According to the Attorney General’s website, the changes were intended to limit the police’s use of force and to “reflect an entirely new framework for police interactions with civilians – one which calls upon officers to protect the life, liberty, and dignity of residents in every encounter.”
Red Bank’s K-9 Unit currently has no officers; Frazee said the department will take a break to determine the unit’s future.
“We are hoping down the road to keep the program going with a new K-9. We will have to assess our needs to determine what kind of K-9 will be the best fit for Red Bank,” he said.
Hunter and Eko were the latest in a long tradition of dogs serving in law enforcement, stretching back to the Middle Ages. Today, dogs can be found in local police departments, the military, and branches of federal law enforcement performing tasks as varied as apprehending criminals and finding drugs, explosives and lost victims using their sharp sense of smell.
K-9 Officer Hunter began his tenure in 2015, making history as Red Bank’s first police dog. Serving alongside Patrol Officer Stanley Balmer, his human partner, K-9 Hunter, has spent the last nine years helping with arrests, seizing money and drugs and apprehending individuals who committed various crimes in Red Bank and beyond, according to Frazee. Hunter has worked with SWAT teams on dangerous search warrants and even appeared on the first season of the competition television show “American’s Top Dog,” “Battle of the Garden State” episode.
K-9 Officer Eko has been serving in the department since 2017. He attended training with the New Jersey State Police and has helped his handler, Patrol Officer Tanner Shea, recover weapons, money and narcotics.
Both K-9 officers have also performed demonstrations at community events, schools and nursing homes, and both have developed special bonds with their handlers.
In fact, Hunter and Eko will spend their retirement years with their former partners, who have generously agreed to adopt them as their pets.
At the retirement ceremony, Frazee gave Balmer and Shea “a ton of credit for their hard work, dedication, and love that they show their partner every day.”
The article originally appeared in the April 18 – April 24, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
