Meet Robi

Baldwin’s newest canine officer already on the job

By John Underwood / john@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 8/23/17

SUMMERDALE, Alabama — Baldwin EMC Charitable Foundation Board members got a chance to meet one of the area’s newest police officers on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at EMC’s Training Center in …

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Meet Robi

Baldwin’s newest canine officer already on the job

Posted

SUMMERDALE, Alabama — Baldwin EMC Charitable Foundation Board members got a chance to meet one of the area’s newest police officers on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at EMC’s Training Center in Summerdale.

Robi, a 19-month-old Belgian malinois, began his training in January, said his partner, Silverhill Police Officer Michael Taylor, who has been training with the dog since April.

Purchased from a kennel in Czechoslovakia, Robi was trained at the Alabama K-9 Law Enforcement Training Center, one of the top training centers in the country, is certified to track narcotics and suspects, Taylor said, and has been used to do both in his short time with the department.

“We’ve already been involved in several drug busts,” he said. Most recently Robi was used to track a suspect in the Elsanor community.

Taylor, a 27-year veteran of law enforcement, began working with a K-9 partner as a police officer in Ozark, Alabama. He also served with the Chattanooga, Tennesee police force and served as a federal agent before retiring and coming to Silverhill about a year ago. Robi is his third K-9 partner.

“He’s a part of our family,” Taylor said. “He goes home with me and wants to go with me everywhere I go. He’s my best friend.”

The canine officer was purchased in part through a grant from the EMC Charitable Foundation.

“We are just one of many donors that made this possible,” said Mark Ingram, vice president of EMC’s energy services and public relations. “This is a prime example of the community coming together to ensure the safety of our residents and Baldwin EMC is proud to be a small part of that.”

The Baldwin EMC Charitable Foundation provides grants through six categories. The grant for the canine officer was provided through the educational category.

“We have already been in contact with Silverhill School and they are working with us,” Taylor said, “and we hope to get all of the area schools involved in order to utilize Robi as an educational tool.”

Thanks to a reciprocal agreement among the three communities, Robi and Taylor will be utilized by the towns of Silverhill, Summerdale and Elberta.

While Chief Stan Devane of Elberta is continuing to recover from injuries sustained in a horse-riding accident and was unable to attend, Silverhill Chief Kevin Brock and Summerdale Chief Jimmy Davis were present at the Aug. 15 introduction.

“As a small department, it’s nice when we’re able to work together to be able to afford some of the perks of the larger departments,” Brock said. “This is something that would certainly be harder to achieve without the support of our community, the communities of Summerdale and Elberta, and companies like Baldwin EMC.”

While echoing Brock’s statement, Davis expressed the need for canine enforcement, particularly along the busy corridors of County Road 32 and the Baldwin Beach Express through Summerdale; along with County Road 55 and Alabama 104 through Silverhill; and U.S. 98 and the proximity of the Foley Beach Express in Elberta that can serve as a pipeline for drug traffickers.

“For us we are 25 miles from Florida, 50 miles from Mississippi, so we definitely see a pipeline with County Road 32 and the Baldwin Beach Express,” Davis said. “In many cases during a traffic stop, when these people know that we have a dog, they know that if there are drugs in their vehicle, the dog is going to find them. That alone is a huge deterrent.”