Tallmadge police use GoPro camera to get K-9’s point of view

Published on July 23, 2018

TALLMADGE: Police dog Axel is trained in narcotics, tracking, searching and other skills.

Now, the sociable 8-year-old German shepherd is getting a crash course in videography.

City police, using a grant from the Rubber City Kennel Club, have equipped Axel with a GoPro Hero6 Black — a portable, waterproof camera that allows authorities to record full color, high-resolution video from the dog’s point of view.

The camera, clipped onto a special vest, is designed to give officer and K9 handler Nate Ickes insight into what Axel sees to aid in his training. It also could be useful in real-life situations in the future.

“As a handler, it’s all about reading your dog,” Ickes said outside the police station as he and Axel showed off how the GoPro works. “What is your dog telling you?”

Tallmadge police, as far as they know, are the only area department with a K-9 using such a camera. The technology is far from new — there are cameras that can be affixed to a K-9’s head, as well — but few agencies are using it because of the cost.

Elite K-9 of Boaz, Ky., which sells equipment and also publishes K-9 Cop Magazine and Police K-9 Magazine, estimated that only 2 percent of departments nationwide employ cameras for their dogs.

“It’s a growing trend,” Luke Gibson of Elite K-9 said.

Axel is serving as a guinea pig of sorts in the Akron area to see if the technology is helpful.

If it is, the Akron-based Rubber City Kennel Club plans to help pay for GoPros for other area departments. The total cost, including the harness, was about $710.

So far, Tallmadge police have been impressed. Read More