Meet Riggs - Criminal Justice Club K-9 Event

On Saturday, April 28, 2012 the Rasmussen College Criminal Justice Club in Bloomington, Minnesota hosted the Bloomington Police Department on campus. Representing the Bloomington Police Department was Officer Mike Larson and his K-9 partner, Riggs.

Officer Larson spoke on the role of a police officer and about the impact that police K-9’s have on the law enforcement field. Officer Larson spent time answering questions from those in the audience and concluded with providing a bite demonstration. For this demonstration, Officer Larson discussed what a K-9 goes through during a shift, and he discussed in detail the amount of training they are involved in to be successful. Officer Larson had one of his partners wear a bite sleeve, and then he proceeded to give commands to the “suspect” before releasing his partner. K-9 Riggs then “fought” the “suspect” until commands were given to release. Officer Larson then demonstrated how his K-9 will remain alert on the suspect throughout the process of searching and is ready to re-engage at the command of Officer Larson.

Overall, this was another excellent experience for the students at the Bloomington campus. Having an officer explain their role and provide an upfront demonstration really assists in properly understanding how K-9’s are utilized in the law enforcement field.