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Died 12/20/17
Handler – Keith Russell
Greencastle Police Department’s K9 struck, killed by vehicle
The Greencastle Police Department’s K-9, Rony, was struck and killed by a vehicle early Wednesday morning, according to a department press release. The release said the K-9 was off-duty at the time and had left his property when he was killed by the vehicle.”Rony faithfully served his handler, the officers and the community of Greencastle for the last 8 years,” the release stated. No other details about the incident were provided by authorities. Earlier this year, the Greencastle Borough Council members met to make decisions about the future of the police department’s K-9 program, according to a previous Herald-Mail story. Nearly 100 people turned out at a February council meeting on the subject, and 700 people signed a petition. The council agreed later to keep the K-9. But earlier this month, Borough Council President Frank Webster Jr. called for the body to consider eliminating the program that has served the borough for the past eight years. The council was scheduled to discuss the elimination of the K-9 unit at a meeting Thursday night while it meets to consider a final 2018 general-fund budget, and set the tax and sewer rates.The council’s administration and finance committee had also called for the elimination of the program as of Jan. 1 by putting the animal’s handler back on patrol for the hours dedicated to caring for and training the dog. But Mayor-elect Ben Thomas Jr. said earlier this month that eliminating the K-9 unit wouldn’t benefit public or officer safety. He estimated the cost at one-third of one percent of the budget. “This is a public-safety and officer-safety issue, not a political one,” he said. Rony, a German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix, had accompanied his handler, Keith Russell, and was added to its force in 2009, according to Herald-Mail Media archives. The K-9 was certified for narcotics work and patrol tasks, which include tracking and apprehending suspects, building searches, protection and searches for evidence, according to published reports. Nearby Waynesboro Police Department ceased using a trained dog in 2014, with the police chief there citing budgetary concerns as a reason for not restoring the initiative. Waynesboro Police Chief James Sourbier in a September 2016 interview described trained dogs as being a “force multiplier” and said he planned to ask Greencastle police to use their dog on investigations if needed. Chambersburg Police Department maintains the only other K-9 teams within Franklin County.
