PIMA — A Pima Police officer is retiring. However, it’s not due to age, but rather changes in state law surrounding marijuana.
Police Chief Diane Cauthen explained that the town’s K9 officer, Rosie, is trained in searching out heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Because there’s no way to differentiate what drug the dog has sniffed out, and because marijuana was approved for medical and recreational use by the voters, Cauthen explained that there’s a risk when using the dog in the field.
“There are still good searches . . . I just don’t want to become case law, where we have to go all the way to the Supreme Court and fight it,” Cauthen said.
Cauthen suggested against the town replacing Rosie, since there are two area agencies with dogs who do not detect marijuana, and area agencies have mutual aid agreements. Thatcher Police is in the process of bringing on a new K9 that is trained to detect drugs except marijuana, and Graham County Sheriff’s Office has a dog that can drug detect as well as perform human tracking.
The Town Council approved the retirement of Rosie and her sale to her officer.
