DARLINGTON — Online voting is open through Nov. 3 in a national contest for law enforcement agencies to win money for their K-9 programs, and Darlington police are encouraging daily voting.
If the Darlington Police Department collects enough votes, it could win up to $5,000 in the contest run by Aftermath, a crime scene and trauma cleanup company based in Aurora, Illinois. Aftermath reports it will award a total of $16,500 in grant money this year to the agencies with the most votes. The company has been running the contest for a decade.
Anyone can vote once every 24 hours at aftermath.com/K9-grant and once daily on Instagram (@AftermathK9Grant). The Darlington Police Department is competing in the contest against other law enforcement agencies in the Midwest.
“When this opportunity came up, we thought what the heck?” said Jason King, Darlington Chief of Police.
The department’s K-9, Kilo, is retiring in May and “we need all the cash we can get to make his transition into retired life and his replacement’s transition into public service as smooth as possible.”
Kilo started in 2010 and is Darlington’s first K-9. The program is funded solely through donations, not tax dollars.
“Back when we started the program, I think there was a little bit of resistance because people didn’t know how a K-9 unit could benefit a small community,” King said.
Over the past nine years Kilo has proven himself, and the benefits of a K-9 program, by doing tasks his human companions can’t do, like tracking people and sniffing for drugs, King said.
Recent examples include Kilo finding a woman in Argyle who had gone missing from the Freeport area, catching a burglar hiding in a cornfield, participating in a drug bust and tracking a man who had assaulted his domestic partner and then fled into the woods.
“Kilo is used more than just in Darlington. He’s been used all over the southwest corner of the state,” King said. “He’s been a really nice asset.”
Kilo has been healthy so far, but at age 10, “the reality is he’s aging,” King said. When Kilo retires in May, he’ll become Officer Ben Conway’s pet.
Officer Nick Mantsch will take over as K-9 handler once the department gets Kilo’s replacement. The cost of the new dog, training and building a kennel at the new handler’s house, plus ensuring Kilo has everything he needs to live out his golden years, will come to about $20,000. Currently the K-9 fund has about $15,000.
“We’ve been collecting funds and raising funds for nine years — that’s why we have this little kitty for $15,000,” King said. The police department accepts donations by mail or in person. Checks can be made to “City of Darlington,” with “K-9 unit” in the memo line.