 |
|
|
History
 |
In July 1972, Officer Doug
Madsen approached Chief Bennett about starting a canine program in
Edina. Madsen pitched the idea and Chief Bennett liked it. Madsen
volunteered to be the first Canine Handler for the department and began
work with a 20-month-old German Shepherd Dog named Jet. Jet was donated
by a Bloomington family.
Madsen and Jet spent three months training at the Minneapolis Police
Department Canine Training Center, and then hit the street running. Jet
was trained as a patrol dog learning basic obedience, agility, broad
jumping, tracking, open area searching and building searches. Madsen
said “He’s a big asset because he not only finds suspects, but he can
tell us if they’re gone out of the area,” according to an interview with
the Edina Sun newspaper.
The two worked the streets of Edina until 1973 when Madsen took a job
with the Minneapolis Police Department and Jet followed.
In December 1974, Jet was the first police canine killed in the line of
duty in Minnesota. While searching a building for a burglary suspect,
Jet moved to the rooftop. Apparently, Jet heard voices in the parking
lot below and hopped over a two-foot wall to investigate. Unaware that
the other side of the wall was not an extension, Jet fell four floors to
his death.
Madsen worked with five dogs during his career until retiring in 1999,
Jet being his first.
|
 |
|
|
