Evansville Police K9 Unit Needs Your Vote to Win Grant Money

The four-legged officers of the Evansville Police Department's K9 Unit need your help in scoring a piece of a $25,000 grant.

The Unit is currently competing with other K9 Units in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Michigan to win the grant being ponied up by Aftermath, a company that specializes in "professional biohazard, coronavirus (COVID-19) and crime scene cleanup services to families, employers, and communities nationwide," according to their website.

In order to win, they need your vote, which is underway here and runs through the end of the day on Tuesday, October 26th. You can vote once every 24 hours per device. Meaning, if you have a computer, smartphone, and tablet, you could vote on each of them once every 24 hours throughout the voting period.

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The EPD shared the info about the contest through a post on their Facebook page, saying if they win the grant, the money would be put toward training and equipment for the unit.

About the Evansville Police K9 Unit

The unit will celebrate 40 years as part of the Evansville Police Department in 2022. It started with only four dogs that were assigned to the motor patrol unit and used for general patrol duties. Since then, the unit has grown to 10 dogs along with the officers assigned to them. Their job description has also evolved over that period of time as some dogs perform two jobs (or "dual-purpose" as the EPD calls it), such as narcotics detection and general patrol, while others are specially trained in narcotics detection only, as well as explosives detection.

Why Do They Need a Grant

You may be thinking, "Wait a minute, doesn't the city fund the department? That's what my tax dollars are for, right?" The answer is, "yes" to both questions. However, the department puts together a budget each year. That budget includes day-to-day operating costs, employee payroll, benefits, supplies, etc., etc. It will also include a variety of things the department would like to have for the upcoming year. That budget is submitted to the City Council who pours over it and makes the final decision on what will remain and what won't based on the amount of tax income the City expects to bring in over the upcoming fiscal year. Keep in mind, the City has several departments like the Water & Sewer Utility, the Parks Department, and more who are also submitting budgets and asking for things they'd like to have. But, like the Rolling Stones once said, "You can't always get what you want," and ultimately a few of those wish-list items hit the cutting room floor leaving the department looking for an alternative way to get the money, like this grant.

Vote, Vote, Vote

Let's do what we do best, and help those who need it. In this case, it's those who help keep us safe, so by voting, we're kind of, sort of potentially helping ourselves if they win. Visit the Aftermath website to cast your vote now.

[Source: Evansville Police Department on Facebook]

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