Statewide K-9 training in Cass County brings heavy police presence to area

RAYMORE, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Viewers in Cass County reached out to the KSHB 41 newsroom to ask why there has been a heavy law enforcement presence across the county. Share your story idea with Ryan.

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The Cass County Sheriff's Office is hosting 75 departments from across Missouri to train and certify police K-9 teams in narcotics detection.

The search exercise brings dogs and their handlers together for certification with the Missouri Police Canine Association. Teams are traveling from across the state, including St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Joplin and beyond.

Al Miller/KSHB

Lt. Darren Doherty, of the Cass County Sheriff's Office, said the vast majority of K-9 teams are no longer trained to detect marijuana, with their focus shifting to harder substances. He said fentanyl has seen an emergence in the Kansas City metro and nationwide, so K-9 teams are being trained to detect it.

"It's harder drugs: cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, heroin. Those are the drugs these dogs are trained on," Doherty said.

Al Miller/KSHB

In Cass County alone, the department has deployed a police dog 179 times this year. Of those deployments, 89 were narcotics sniffs, with a 90% to 95% success rate — a snapshot of their effectiveness.

The Missouri Police Canine Association was created to fill a gap the state has not addressed with its own requirements.

Al Miller/KSHB

Scott Hedger, president of the Missouri Police Canine Association, said the absence of a state standard is exactly what motivated the organization's creation.

"The state doesn't have an actual standard. It's why we created this organization: there has to be something you have to do to certify," Hedger said.

Al Miller/KSHB

The training brings together veteran K-9 units, like K-9 Bock, alongside newer partnerships, like Belton's K-9 Duco Stryke.

For all teams, the certification process sharpens their skills and promotes public safety.

Al Miller/KSHB

"Training like this is how we invest back into them," Doherty said. "Quite frankly, the dogs are a larger approach to keeping the community safe."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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