The South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on Tuesday was taken over by the dogs. After Lisa Maloof handed over a check to cover the purchase and care for Ricci, three new canine officers for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) were sworn in.
Ricci, a 22-month-old Belgian Malinois from Holland, was joined by Tara, also a Belgian Malinois from Holland, and Quatro, a German Shepherd from Slovakia, as the newest members of SLTPD’s K9 team.
Officer Scott Crivelli is Ricci’s handler, which means he and the dog are together seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Tara stays with Sgt. Jason Chaney while four-year-old Quatro lives with officer Matt Morrison and his family.
All of them were part of Tuesday’s swearing in ceremony which had the dogs put their paw print on the official paperwork.
After the ceremony, SLTPD officer Cory Wilson and his girlfriend Katie were part of a demonstration where the new K9 officers apprehended the “criminals.” As was evident during this summer’s stand-off in the Tahoe Keys, canine officers are an important tool in taking down suspects without shots being fired. 30-40 police situations annually in South Lake Tahoe utilize the dogs instead of guns.