MINOCQUA – Minocqua is losing one of its veteran police officers, Detective Sergeant Matthew Tate, as well as its K9, affectionately known as “Officer Jennings.”
Tate, one of two detective sergeants on the force, has accepted a position with the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy and future K9 officer. Minocqua Police Chief David Jaeger told the town board Tuesday that Tate’s resignation caught him by surprise. “I was blown out of the water,” said the police chief when Tate came to him about resigning. “He was a great supervisor.” Tate has been with the department since 2013. Tate’s last day on the force will be July 14.
The chief said he had a long conversation with Tate, learning there were no ill feelings between the two, nor with the department. “He assured me that it was nothing that I did or the department did to push him out of the door.” Tate is from Sauk County originally and did his rookie internship with that sheriff’s department. Tate has been the dog’s trainer and handler since it was acquired back in 2016. The dog is named after the late town supervisor Bryan Jennings, a strong supporter of the police department. The dog began patrolling with Tate in March 2017.
While the town could require Officer Jennings to remain with the force, it would be difficult for the dog to become comfortable with a new handler. Jaeger said he talked with other agencies with K9 units and they all said it “would not be a good situation.”
“Sauk County also offered to purchase Canine Jennings from the department in order for Jennings to go along with Sergeant Tate to their agency,” Jaeger said. The chief said the Sauk County agency’s offer of $3,000 was “fair” considering that a police dog’s usable service life is between five and seven years. But some agencies have seen 7-9 years of service from their K9s. Officer Jennings would have started his fourth year next March. The town will also sell the squad car cage to Sauk County for $1,000. That also is a fair price, Jaeger said, because the cage was specifically fitted for a 2017 squad car and no longer fits in 2020 vehicles.
Tate said afterwards he was unsure if he would purchase the doghouse (heated and air conditioned) that was donated to the department by his parents. Originally costing $5,800 its value is about $3,500, according to the police chief.
Tate’s departure means the police chief will be looking for his replacement. “At this time I know I’m going to recommend that I post for an open sergeant’s position both externally and internally and go through a process to determine who would fill that position.” Jaeger praised Tate for his hard work in developing the local K9 program. “He did a great job in building that program.” Finding the right officer replacement, much less a new canine, will take some time, he said. “We will not fill the canine handler position right away. I have to determine whether or not we have an officer who is willing to take on the...responsibility. It is a very demanding position and it comes with a lot of responsibility, as well as a lot of work both on and off duty.”
The community through business and private donations covered the entire cost of purchasing Officer Jennings (about $15,000) and a squad car, with total donations well over $112,000 at one point. Tate and the dog did extensive training for six weeks at Southern Police Canine, Inc., in North Carolina. The dog is originally from Budapest, Hungary. It was trained in narcotics detection, article search, building search, tracking, apprehension, and handler protection.
Town chairman Mark Hartzheim and the supervisors thanked Tate for his past service and wished him well on the new job.
