EASTHAMPTON — When officers responded to a crashed and ditched car, it was the K-9, Gino, who did the detective work.
On Saturday evening, Dec. 16, the 2-year-old German shepherd traced a scent a mile across Easthampton to find the suspected driver of the vehicle.
According to the department’s Facebook page, Easthampton Police responded around 10 p.m. to a report of a vehicle crashed into a tree in the area of Clark and East Chestnut streets. The vehicle was found, its airbags having gone off, and the driver nowhere to be found.
Upon further investigation, police discovered that the same vehicle had struck a parked car before veering off toward the tree in a residential yard.
Officer Andrew Beaulieu, who works with Gino, was the initial officer on the scene. Beaulieu had Gino start sniffing around, and eventually Gino led him from the scene of the crash, through nearby neighborhoods and to the driver’s residence.
When officers reached the alleged driver’s home and began to search the area, the driver emerged from the darkness. Uninjured, he admitted to crashing the vehicle.
Police then conducted a sobriety test on the man, who appeared to be intoxicated. The result of Gino’s good work: the 24-year-old was arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a marked lanes violation and leaving the scene of property damage.
According to the Easthampton Police Department Facebook page, Gino trains once a week with members of the Massachusetts Police Work Dog Association to keep his sense of smell sharp.