CODE 3 IN A HURRICANE

Yes, while all the rest of South Carolinians were staying off the roads as Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Beaufort and Charleston, I was out riding along with a K-9 Unit of the Sheriff's Dept on the graveyard shift. It was extremely exciting but was my second such ride along with the unit which I was doing as research for a book I'm working on. First, I should recap that first amazing night I spent with Deputy T. Blackwelder and his K-9 partner, Lannes.

Lannes, a German Shepard, has been on the road since last November. Deputy Blackwelder introduced me to Lannes using only whisper commands the dog heeled by his side as I extended my hand which he promptly licked. We started the nighshift patrol and it wasn't long before I got to see Lannes in action. Every time the deputy got out of the SUV, Lannes was on his feet ready to go watching the deputy through the windshield. He got Lannes out to search a suspicious vehicle. The dog immediately alerted on the driver's side door and the deputy praised him but didn't him his reward because he needed to complete the "fresh air sniff" search (meaning from outside the vehicle and no probable cause is necessary). Around the other side I saw Lannes alert on the passenger side. At that point the deputy gave Lannes his reward - his ball. He then had probable cause and searched the interior of the car. whereupon he found several hypodermic needles which had traces of heroin. It was incredible that the dog got the scent from such a small amount of drugs. The next search was on a traffic stop on the interstate. Again, Lannes alerted and the car was searched. Only a spattering of marijuana seeds and buds were found on the floorboard. The most exciting thing to happen was a real surprise. We got the call of shots fired at a residence and we weren't far away. Deputy Blackwelder told me to hang on and he turned on the blue light and siren. At speeds well over 100mph we proceeded down  #1Hwy. Then we were on a two lane side street. He said, "You know we're doing 85 in a 30mph zone." And I replied, "I figured that out a few miles back!"

Deputy Blackwelder was the perfect person to ride with for my research. He not only is the handler for Lannes, but he trains all the other dogs and handlers with the Sheriff's Dept. He's ex-military and while deployed worked with an explosives sniffing dog. If you think I'm painting him to be a real 'badass' it's because he really is. He's like the "dog whisperer" of Aiken County. He took time to answer all my questions and explain everything that happened on our ride along. So when I had a few more questions, I arranged another ride along with him on the midnight shift.

So rather than barricading myself indoors away from all the rain and winds we got from the hurricane last Friday night, I was on another ride along. It was a bit of a slow night because most people were holed up in their houses off the road. We did have one interesting call. A stolen car was spotted and a high speed pursuit was initiated by other deputies as we finished up the call we were on. Then it was blue lights and siren to get Lannes on scene for when they baled out of their car. Deputy Blackwelder said, "We're CODE 3 in a hurricane". The hurricane barely slowed us down since the deputy is such a good driver after all he is a defensive driving instructor at the Police Academy. The rain was pouring almost going sideways from all the wind and to the scene we went. I never worried for a minute. Like I said, he's pretty much a badass!

I ended my ride along about 1:30am and then had to brave the elements to drive home but I didn't mind a little hurricane weather. These ride alongs were not only essential to my research, but they were a lot of fun. A big thank you to Lannes, Deputy Blackwelder, and Sheriff Michael Hunt. I couldn't write my book without all of their assistance. And if you've got drugs moving through Aiken County, you might have occasion to meet the Badass and Lannes.