Good morning Menlo Park City Council Members,
I am writing you today to shed light of the very concerning decision to retire K9 Duke as his handler returns to patrol on February 15th, 2022 and ask for you to consider discussing this decision with Chief Norris to possibly overturn it.
You may or may not be aware that Police Chief Norris has decided that K9 Duke will retire when Sgt. Ed Soares returns to patrol next week due to Duke being a "distraction." If you have ever had the pleasure of watching Sgt. Soares and Duke work together, you know that Duke is far from a distraction for Ed.
I have personally known Ed Soares for over 25 years and have never seen him as driven and focused on cleaning up the streets of Menlo Park.
Together, Ed and Duke have removed millions of dollars worth of drugs off Menlo Park streets. This would change for the worse if Duke is to be retired. While on patrol, Ed and Duke can still be of service to the other officers needing to do a narcotics search. Removing the only narcotics K9 on the MPD police force would open up the door for criminals to carry drugs on their body or vehicle. Having Duke allows the entire police force to be able to apprehend and remove such drugs off the streets.
Chief Norris received countless letters pleading to keep K9 Duke on active duty when Sgt. Soares returns to patrol. I wrote a personal letter to him as well. These letters were from parents, students, teachers, colleagues, friends, and family of Ed and Duke. Many stated the impact that they have had in one way or another over the years. Ed and Duke are ambassadors for police K9s and interact with the public in a very positive way.
Duke is 7 years old, next month, and has many years left in his K9 career. Typical K9 retirement isn't discussed until age 9. To force him to retire early will only cause more harm than good.
I have personally experienced the greatness of Ed and Duke in my classroom over multiple years. They have a way of connecting with the toughest kids and turning them around. You can see the impact that the two make immediately upon entering a room.
Please consider overturning Chief Norris' decision and letting K9 Duke and Sgt. Ed Soares work their remaining years together as partners. Duke deserves better. Menlo Park deserves better.
Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to speak further about this issue.
Thank you,
Niki Estacio
5th Grade Teacher
Rucker Elementary School
