The newest member of the Franklin Park Police Department has four paws and quite the nose for crime.
The rookie officer, sworn in on Nov. 7, is a 14-month-old female Belgian Malinois named Voodoo.
“[Officer] Mike [Leone] came to the department several months ago and requested to put this [K-9] project together,” Franklin Park Director of Police Michael Witz said.
Leone was selected as the handler for the dog by the owner of the dog training company, which means that in addition to working with her, he’s also going to be taking Voodoo home every night. Witz said Voodoo is expected to be active in the department for the next seven to 10 years.
“She’s friendly and social, not like previous shepherds we’ve had,” Witz said. “We went with this direction instead of a defense or attack dog. Voodoo will sniff for missing children and perform article and drug searches.”
During the meeting, Witz told the board that Voodoo had already done some work revealing hidden compartments in a vehicle where narcotics are hidden. When it came time for Voodoo to raise her right paw and be sworn in as a Franklin Park police officer, Village President Barrett Pedersen jokingly asked if Voodoo speaks Flemish since she’s Belgian.
“I can have her bark a few times for you, sir,” said Witz.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.