Fate Department of Public Safety
FATE, TX – August 12, 2022 – There are many different careers in law enforcement available, but one of the most sought-after jobs is being a Canine (K9) Officer. K9 Officers or K9 Handlers are essentially law enforcement officers whose service dogs also perform the duties of a general police officer. In addition to their regular duties, K9 Officers are also involved in training and caring for their K9 partners. This makes both the officer and the dog partners not only at work but also at home.
Fate Department of Public Safety (DPS) is fortunate to have one of those officers. Public Safety Officer Bryan Dubetsky and his partner K9 Public Safety Officer Denzel make up a unique force multiplier not only for Fate, but for other departments throughout Rockwall County with Fate DPS being the number one priority.
“Having a K9 is a big force multiplier,” said Officer Dubetsky, “Denzel is trained in narcotics, apprehension, tracking and article search… “Article search is like if someone is running and throws something out.” “We can send Denzel into a field or wherever thrown and he can locate it, whether it’s a weapon, criminal instrument, drugs or whatever it is.”
Prior to working at Fate DPS, Officer Dubetsky served with the Dallas Police Department for one year; and prior to that he worked in construction, security services and in contracting for two years. While he was working in contracting, he purchased two K9’s for the purpose of training them and making them available for adoption. One K9 was adopted by the New York State Police. The other K9 was adopted by the Clinton [MO] Police Department. Officer Dubetsky also served in the U.S. Air Force as a Security Forces Officer for eight years. Six of those eight years, he worked as a K9 Handler for Security Forces.
In 2020, Fate wasn’t sure if it would continue the K9 program. It’s K9 Public Safety Officer Czar would retire soon and Fate needed around $20K to purchase a K9, associated equipment and training for required certifications. Fate DPS felt the program was important enough not only for Fate but for Rockwall County and wanted to raise the funds through the community at large. “Not only did the community and businesses in Fate, Rockwall and Royse City step up in a big way to keep the K9 program alive,” said Dubetsky, “but so did fellow Sherriff, Firefighters and Police in all of Rockwall County.”
K9 Public Safety Officer Denzel is a Dutch Shepherd, and according to www.hepper.com/dutch-shepherd/, they’re a true jack-of-all-trades, one of the purebred dog world’s hardworking and adaptable breeds. They were bred initially for generations by shepherds and farmers to adapt to a meager and harsh existence. They’re a true model of canine resilience able to accommodate themselves to almost any living situation, climate or job. The dogs are real super heroes.
Officer Dubetsky showed his patrol vehicle, a modified four-door Ford F-150 truck, with a special temperature-controlled kennel built into the vehicle behind the front cabin area for Denzel with a specially made square metal water bowl. The temperature control device called Hot-N-Pop is located inside the front cabin area near the center console where the officer can easily control.
“It will let me know the temperature in Denzel’s kennel,” said Dubetsky, “If it reaches a certain point, where it’s preset deemed to be too hot in the truck [for Denzel], and I’m not in the vehicle, then all the windows will roll down, the fan will come on, and lights and sirens will come on.” “It’ll let me know it’s too hot and that I need to get back to the vehicle and rectify it or take Denzel out of the vehicle.” Thus, the name Hot-N-Pop. In the extreme Texas heat, this device deserves some credit for keeping K9’s safe inside their patrol vehicle. “This is the only vehicle in the city outfitted for K9 operations,” said Dubetsky, “We had a case recently where the vehicle was overheating and had to go in the shop for a week… “So, he [Denzel] had to stay home and I went to work without him.”
Dubetsky also pointed out several compartments built in the rear bed of the truck, in which his essential gear as well as Denzel’s essential gear is located. “Denzel has his own oxygen mask, medical kit, K9 mask and other essential gear,” said Dubetsky, “Everything in a human medical kit is in Denzel’s medical kit and much more and if you wondered why my uniform is different, it’s because I’m frequently found in the woods [with Denzel] and my body is prone to getting poison ivy really quick.”
Denzel needs physical activity during each shift otherwise he’ll stay restless throughout his shift both in and out of the patrol vehicle. To keep his level of physical activity up, we departed towards the Fate utilities operations area. It’s a great place for Denzel to run and catch a ball thrown by Dubetsky, plus it’s a fenced-in area.
“But I also need to watch him after physical activity because dogs can bloat just like humans,” said Dubetsky, “It’s called GDV [gastric dilatation-volvulus] complex, and is a medical and surgical emergency.”
According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), as the stomach fills with air, pressure builds, stopping blood from the hind legs and abdomen from returning to the heart. Blood pools at the back end of the body, reducing the working blood volume and sending the dog into shock. If this isn’t enough, there is yet another scary thing that happens, and it is devastating to see. As the stomach flips, it drags the spleen and pancreas along with it, cutting off the blood flow. The oxygen-starved pancreas produces some very toxic hormones. One, in particular, targets the heart and stops it cold. In fact, a dog can go through successful treatment and seem to be out of danger, when suddenly the heart stops. Even in the mildest case of bloat, which is extremely rare, dogs die without treatment.
After getting Denzel exercise we began patrolling the north side and then southside. It was fairly quiet until around 8 p.m., we received a call from Rockwall County Dispatch Center that a man was stabbed and bleeding. Officer Dubetsky then turned on the red and blue lights and we quickly sped out of the south side of Fate off Interstate 30 towards the north side of Fate to the scene. Traffic wasn’t very busy that time of night, but there were a few cars traveling and they quickly moved to the side when they heard the siren and saw the red and blue lights. Officer Denzel began barking loudly. He knew something was up and wanted to get to work. We quickly raced to the scene while Denzel barked the entire way, with an siren screaming and lights blazing. We were moving with purpose, when I heard dispatch say the man was bleeding considerably. Within minutes after that, we arrived at the scene, across from Mo’s Exxon, Royse City, TX, (off SH 66) in a gravel parking area. Officer Dubetsky attended to the victim, calming him down and within minutes after our arrival Rockwall County Emergency Medical Services (RCEMS) technician arrived and attended to the victims’ wound. Dubetsky reaffirmed what dispatch established regarding what took place, if he knew the suspects, what they looked like, in which direction they fled and any other information he could provide. Then a RCEMS ambulance crew arrived and assumed medical care for the victim. The victim was a middle-aged white male who had been stabbed in the stomach. Blood was flowing down from his stomach down to his legs but he was upright and seemed stable at the time. Rockwall County EMS ensured the victims wound was clean, applied a field dressing to stop the bleeding, took his vitals, administered an IV, and provided other medical care as needed. They reported all medical information to the hospital they were traveling towards. The suspects were two Hispanic males, one with long hair and one with facial hair. By the time we received the call, they had already fled the scene.
While this was going on Dubetsky called for air support, either helicopter or drone, while it was still light, to search for the suspects. Unfortunately, no air support was available from any of the agencies. He also asked for additional backup to assist at the scene, and help search for the suspects on foot. Unfortunately, some agencies were short staffed that night, Dubetsky said, “In fact, it’s not just Fate who is short staffed officers… “All agencies across the county and state are short staffed officers.” However, a couple agencies were able to send an additional officer including Rockwall County Sherriff and a Rockwall County Constable.
Around 8:30 p.m., Dubetsky gathered Denzel and equipment needed to search for the suspects. A couple other officers joined him in the search for the suspects. Lieut. Jordan Pope arrived at the scene before Dubetsky went on a search and apprehend mission with other officers. Pope began taking pictures of the scene where the gas siphoning and then stabbing took place. It was time for me to leave so I called my stepson for a ride. It was dark around 9 p.m. when I left and I hoped that Officers Dubetsky and Denzell would be able to apprehend the suspects.
I followed up the next day with Lieut. Jordan Pope and though they spent over two hours searching for the suspects, they were not taken into custody. The case was turned over to the criminal investigation division. The will, grit and determination of our officers while working is amazing and admirable. Their focus seemed to elevate a few notches when they were at work. It’s like they shifted into a higher gear, and once Denzel jumped out of the vehicle, he was ready to track and apprehend the bad guys. I was happy they were on our side protecting us.