Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Corporal David Cole has a nice perk that comes with his job: He gets to hang out with a dog.
“It was one of the really appealing specialties for me,” Cole said. “I had an interest in working with the dogs, the training side of it and having a dog as a partner. I knew having a K9 was naturally going to put me in more active situations, and I had an interest in doing that.”
Cole, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 12 ½ years, became a K-9 handler in 2015 with his first partner, Edik, a Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix from the Czech Republic trained in explosives detection and patrol functions. Cole and Edik attended a 10-week training academy in Mechanicsburg and spent four years together until Edik retired in 2019. Edik sadly passed in Feb.
Ragnar, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois trained in explosives detection and patrol work, is Cole’s new partner; the duo attended a five-week introductory training course in Iowa. They train daily on their certified skills; Cole and Sergeant David Bolton are certified master police K-9 trainers, and the team units are required to train 16 hours a month with them.
The dogs provide multiple important services including detecting the odors of explosive materials and alerting their handlers, tracking wanted individuals by ground disturbance or odor, finding criminals hiding in buildings, protecting their handlers and other deputies when they are in danger, and skill demonstrations to partners throughout Lancaster County.
Along with the K-9 unit, Cole works in the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division’s Warrant Unit and the Lancaster County Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) which gives him a bunch of variety in his days.
“We deal with a lot of different situations,” Cole said. “A lot are similar, but no situation is the exact same. I really like that aspect of the job. It keeps you on your toes and challenged.”
Putting himself into those occasionally dangerous situations and experiencing emotionally disturbing events for the good of the public can be tough, but Cole says it’s worth it if a life is saved.
“Our mission in law enforcement in general, and especially on SERT, is saving lives,” he said. “I’ve firsthand seen officers take risks to do just that.”
Cole described himself as a normal guy and “average Joe” outside of work, where he decompresses by spending time with his family, connecting with coworkers, going to the gym, hiking in southern Lancaster County, and listening to music.
The daily variation is one of the reasons Cole, a Donegal grad with an associate degree in criminal justice, wanted to get into the profession; he also mentioned community interaction, problem solving, and “looking out for the little guy” as big reasons why he enjoys – and would recommend – the profession.
“I would definitely urge anyone wanting to get into law enforcement to have thick skin,” he said. “Be open minded, work hard, stay humble. Probably above all, though, don’t compromise your integrity. Integrity is so crucial to being successful in the job and you can’t compromise that at all.”
Ragnar agrees.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.
