- 
      - **  Home
      - **   About Us
      - **  Archives
      - **   Events
      - **  Publications

### Contact Us

To provide feedback on the Community Policing Dispatch, e-mail the editorial board at CPDispatch@usdoj.gov.

To obtain details on COPS Office programs, publications, and resources, contact the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov

**U.S. Department of Justice**        Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 
www.cops.usdoj.gov

            - Home
            - About Us
            - Archives
            - Events
            - Publications
            - Contact Us

### **A Surprise Guest Greets a 102 Year Old Birthday Girl in Bradenton, Florida**

 June 2020 | Volume 13 | Issue 6

*The COPS Office is pleased to feature the Bradenton (Florida)  Police Department as the June 2020 winner of the Community Policing in Action  Photo Contest. The winning photo shows Bradenton Officer K.B. Magown at a  National Night Out event with K-9 partner Maverick.*

Bradenton (Florida)  Police Department’s (BPD) Officer K.B. Magown and his K-9 partner Maverick  are welcome guests at almost any event, but were especially so in August 2019,  as Mary Greenleaf celebrated her 102nd birthday in the Highland Lakes Community  Clubhouse.

 It was National Night Out, an annual event which brings  law enforcement officers together with their communities to socialize and get  to know each other better. Taking part in the activities with several other BPD  officers, Magown and Maverick joined the mayor and a town council member at the  Highland Lakes Community clubhouse to meet and mingle with local residents.

 Recalling the evening, Magown says “I was walking around  with Maverick explaining what we do as a K-9 team, when somebody said: ‘You  should meet our birthday girl, Mary Greenleaf. She’s an animal lover.’ So I led  Maverick to her, and she was delighted. As she petted him, he put his face  close to hers. He knew she loves dogs.”

 And according to Magown, Maverick loves people too. “He’s  not a “bite dog,” he says, explaining that unlike K-9s trained to apprehend  suspects, Maverick’s quarry is explosives. “He’s a bomb sniffer, so he’s not  aggressive, and really likes being around people.” 

 Says Magown, “We’re mostly called out to check suspicious  packages. But we also work the Pittsburgh Pirates’ spring training games in  Bradenton, sweeping the stadium to make sure nothing is there. We work all major  events in the area, including Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival, and are on  the list to work the 2021 Super Bowl too. “

 Asked how many bombs Maverick has detected since they  started working together in 2018, Magown laughs. “None—the only ones he’s ever  found are the ones I hid for training purposes. We’ve been lucky.” But they  don’t rely on luck to continue keeping the area safe. Maverick and his K-9  partner train together daily, and Maverick is certified as a bomb detector dog by  the United States Police Canine Association. 

 This hardworking bomb-sniffing professional is also very  sociable. “People often ask if they can pet him, says Magown, “and he’s always  happy to let them. He’s been a social ice breaker for me as a law enforcement  officer. A lot of conversations have started this way.” 

 One that made a lasting impression was with an elderly  baseball fan at a spring training game. “I saw her there a lot, but she always  kept her distance. One day, she said ‘I’m afraid of your dog.’ I acknowledged  that, but told her he’s gentle.”

 “By the fourth game, she came closer, saying that she had  always been afraid of police too and was once bitten by a police dog. But she  wanted to try petting Maverick anyway. She reached out shyly and he responded  in a friendly way. We had a good talk, and she said it changed her outlook.”

 Though they work all the large events, Magown and Maverick  are most frequently seen in Bradenton’s business district where they regularly patrol  in a downtown unit. “We work closely with this community, and if anybody has a  problem, they call me or Officer Nuttall, who also patrols the area. We gave  out our personal cell phone numbers, and if anybody calls when we’re off duty, we alert the department to send out an officer.”

 This commitment to personal service is characteristic of  the BPD, which adopted a community policing approach in the early 2000s under  former Chief Michael Radzilowski, a strategy then credited with reducing the  crime rate by 69 percent. Today’s chief, Melanie Bevan, has built on Radzilowski’s  approach, increasing community engagement through strategies such as increased  presence at neighborhood meetings and a “Walkin’ the Beat” program.

 It was these programs that brought Magown and Maverick to Mary  Greenleaf’s birthday party and the streets of downtown Bradenton—programs that Magown  is very enthusiastic about. “I love what I do,” he says. “It’s a real pleasure  working with Maverick and the people in our community.”

*Written with contributions from BPD Officer  K.B. Magown*.

Faye Elkins          Sr. Technical Writer

Tweet

**Subscribe to Email Updates**
To sign up for monthly updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your email address in the Subscribe box.

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

**Explore**
            - Home
            - About Us
            - Archives
            - Events
            - Publications
            - Contact Us

**
Connect With Us 
**
Want to stay connected with the COPS office?             Follow us on social media!
            - 
            - 
            - 
- 
- 
- 

             FOIA 

             No FEAR Act 

             Open Government 

             Plain Writing 

             USA.gov 

             Legal Policies and Disclaimers 

             Language Access Plan 

             DOJ Privacy Policy