Mike Tussey: That growl you hear is coming from a very powerful, fearless weapon — the police K9

One of the toughest assignments a Police Officer can accept is that of joining the K9 Division.

In 1974, I decided to pursue the opportunity despite having no real idea as to what would be required to qualify for the position.

Once an Officer is departmentally approved for the position, the canine must qualify as well.

K9’s are extremely fierce, intelligent, powerful, agile and quick. You have to throw in tenacity too. They fear nothing at all.

The K9 team consists of an Officer and a canine that will eventually function as a very distinct tandem that will master many physical and mental requirements.

My new partner was a 90 lb black and silver German Shepherd that I named “MACE.”

He had all the aforementioned attributes and then a ton more.

In fact, Mace would subsequently go on the win the coveted “Golden Spike Award” given to the Best K9 in the Class.

Yeah…I was very proud of the Big Guy.

We were both enrolled for 15 solid weeks of very intense K9 training in Lexington, Kentucky hosted by Lexington Police Department.

Our class consisted of 12 Police Officers and 12 very aggressive K9’s that would in time, become a highly trained law enforcement tactical tandem designed to meet and challenge the criminal element.

Specifically the training consisted of the Officer and the K9 working in concert as a team.

On the first day of training, our instructor Sergeant Frank Patton warned us that it was likely many of us would be bitten or injured over the next few months.

Patton warned us saying, “If this bothers you, now is the time to go home.” Every Officer just smiled as if to say, “Bring it on.”

We were in our 10th week when it happened to me. It was a Wednesday afternoon and our class was going to perform for a busload of grade school children who were on a field trip. 40 kids line up on the outside of the huge fence to watch the show. One of the key elements of training was to execute an exercise known as,
“Long hit, handler protection.”

Patrolmen Ron Perry, Kenneth May and Michael Tussey receive diplomas at the Lexington Metro Police Department’s canine training school. At left is Sgt. Frank Patton of Lexington and at right Ashland City Manager F. Vaughn Strader (Photo by Mike Delawder)

This consisted of two Officers and one K9 executing a simulation of a suspect running from a K9 team who was in pursuit. That morning my fellow Officer Ron Perry and I flipped a coin to determine who would be the “bad guy.” I lost.

That meant that I had to run with a head start of 20 yards with only a burlap sleeve on my right arm. The whistle blew, I was on my way. But, so was a huge Doberman in chase. He caught me, knocked me down while biting the burlap sleeve. At this time, the Officer gave the command to, “Leave it.” “King” the Doberman obeyed. The Officer then commanded King to “Watch him.”

This exercise was designed to have the K9 watch the suspect while the Officer completed a search of the suspect. Sometime, during the search, my role was to assault the Officer which would trigger the K9 to attack. Attack he did with a vengeance.

At this time, my job was to “feed” him the large sleeve on my right arm which I did. King decided to slide off the sleeve and attack my neck which knocked me down. At this time, my fight for survival was underway.

The Officer gave several “leave it” commands, but the K9 was huge and powerful and had one focus, and that was biting me.

The Officer tried to attach his lead to King but could not get a steady attachment. Meanwhile, King was all over me and I was helpless. Finally, another Officer intervened to assist and got the K9 off me, but it was too little, too late.

At this time, I knew I was in trouble, blood was everywhere. Then it was quickly off to the emergency room at the hospital. The staff counted 17 puncture wounds from my neck, face, knee, arms, chest and hip.
The ER doctor asked Sergeant Patton, “What happened here, was this from a shotgun?” Patton replied, “No sir, it was from a K9.” The Doctor asked, “What was it ? a Wolverine?”

I missed several weeks of training due to the bites on my legs and knee. I was on crutches for awhile. However, in time I made up the required elements of the training and did graduate with my class in July, 1974.

Now, it was back to the Ashland Police Department for our assignments. We were all assigned different shifts consisting of mostly Midnight hours. Everything we would encounter from now on would be the real deal. The weeks quickly turned into months.

Any Police Officer will tell you there are no two calls for service that are alike. Each one is different and that includes calls for the use of the K9 team.

On Jan 1, 1975 at 5 a.m. I got the call at home to respond to a Burglary in progress requesting the K9 Unit. I had worked my shift and was off duty at home, but in minutes, Mace and I were on our way to a burglary in progress. My destination was a large two-level warehouse.

Upon arrival, Officers already had the building staked out on all 4 corners. They even had a suspect in custody.

I was briefed by the Captain and then it was time to talk to the suspect in custody. The prisoner was not going to give my any information I could use except he did say there were two more suspects in the warehouse. I asked, “Are the two guys armed?” He replied, “You’ll find out when you go after them.”

That’s the news you don’t want to hear obviously, but it was now time execute the building search training we covered just months ago. The warning was given to the suspects on a bull horn to come out OR the K9 is coming in. No reply. When you go into a dark building and don’t know the layout of a building, you have to read your K9 per the training I received. He is a Super Weapon. He can hear 90% better that a human, he can smell a human body scent, his quickness, ferocity and power is incredible.

Mace was on the hunt, I was right behind with my weapon and flashlight. My fear was that the suspects had split up. However, they were together and were in the rear of the building and were in the process of exiting a door. I ordered Mace to attack and immediately he had one down, the other one was arrested by the Officers at the rear of the building as he quickly exited.

By the way, the two suspects thankfully, were not armed. I lucked out.

Over the next 6 years, Mace and I patrolled the city doing what we were trained to do including apprehending an escapee from State Prison hiding in an attic, tracking an escapee from the county jail, squelching a riot downtown and the list goes on.

Sure, the adrenalin begins to flow, the heart rate goes up, and as I mentioned earlier, there are never two calls alike. However, after all these years, the very BEST partner I ever worked with was a K9 Warrior named MACE.

I miss very much even today.

Keep in mind, your local Police do this and so many other things everyday to keep you and your family safe every time they begin a Tour of Duty.

Please support them.

I am very proud to have served 20 years with the Ashland Police Department and the Northern Kentucky University Police Department retiring in 2003 as Assistant Chief with 26 years of service.

Over the years, I have been asked if I could be a K9 Officer again, would I do it ?

My answer is simple: Only if Mace could work with me and I was 55 years younger, it’s like Clint Eastwood once said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

Mike Tussey has “retired” from a 60-plus-year career as a legendary play-by-play announcer for over 2000 football, baseball, and basketball games, including most recently for ESPN+. His career also includes a stint in law enforcement, teaching and coaching, and writing books, including the “Touchdown Saints.” He grew up in Eastern Kentucky and now lives in Florence with his wife, Jo. He has opened another “Door of Opportunity” and will now be a regular columnist for the NKyTribune.