| QPD canine officer resigns; dog reportedly used to breed puppies that were offered for sale |
|
|
|
|
Darin Kent, a canine officer with the Quincy Police Department, and his dog, Max go through approximately 500 pounds of marijuana that were discovered during a traffic stop at Third and York in August 2007. Kent resigned from the department this week. (H-W File Photo)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published: 9/10/2008 | Updated: 1/23/2009
Quincy canine officer Darin Kent resigned Tuesday after facing allegations he used his city-owned dog to breed puppies which he offered for sale on a canine Web site, The Herald-Whig has learned.
Quincy Police Chief Rob Copley declined to comment about the allegations or confirm Kent resigned. Copley said Tuesday a QPD officer resigned after being accused of “serious infractions of department rules and policies.”
Copley released a statement late Wednesday morning.
"On advice of the city legal staff, based upon Illinois law concerning employment records, I cannot confirm nor release any details of the recent internal investigation that led up to the resignation of a Quincy police officer," he wrote. "This includes the officer's name. I will not be releasing any further information regarding this issue until I have had an opportunity to meet with the Quincy City Council. An executive session following the City Council meeting is planned for Monday, Sept. 15."
Sources said Kent resigned after meeting with Copley Tuesday morning. The case was scheduled to go to the Fire and Police Commission, possibly as early as next week. Sources said no puppies were sold on the unnamed Web site, but that an ad was pulled from the site after the investigation began last month.
Copley said no criminal charges are expected to be filed. Adams County State’s Attorney Jon Barnard said he has seen no official documents and that the case “strikes me as purely an administrative matter.”
Kent has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment. A 13-year QPD veteran, he had been on paid administrative leave while the department conducted an investigation. His base salary was $55,887.52 for the fiscal year that ended April 30, according to City Comptroller Ann Scott.
Kent and his dog, a Belgian Malenois named Max, were together for six years. They started as members of the Street Crimes Unit in August 2002 Max is 8 years old and most canine unit dogs remain on the job for 10 years. It is unknown what the future of Max will be in the department.
The department spent $5,000 to buy Max from a kennel in Indiana. Max was born and trained in Holland, and Kent used German and Dutch commands with the dog.
Max was involved in numerous arrests and several prominent cases. He was the canine involved in the seizure of 500 pounds of marijuana after a traffic stop in Quincy last August.
In June 2007, officer Adam Gibson was paired with Uno to form a second canine unit. Gibson and Uno were added because QPD went to 12-hour shifts and Max wasn’t always available.
QPD had no out-of-pocket cost for the second canine unit. Uno was paid for by the Quincy Police Department Citizen's Academy Alumni. The group raised $36,287 to buy the dog, a specially-equipped vehicle, camera and computer, as well as pay for training.
Gibson and Kent followed Jeff Baird, now a detective, as canine officers. Baird and his German Shepherd Jake worked together more than nine years before retiring the dog in 2004.
Jake was nearly 13 years old when he died two years later.
— rhart@whig.com/221-3370
|
|
|
|
Most Viewed Stories
|
|
Most Emailed Stories
|
|
|
|
|
Click here to view or buy more photos from local events by Herald-Whig staff Photographers.
|
|
Click here for more news and views from Herald-Whig staff writers.
|
|
|
|
