- April 26, 2024
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When it comes to doing outreach with local kids, Cpl. Robert Tarczewski's partner makes things easy: A member of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office's K-9 unit, Tarczewski is paired with Odin, a 3-year-old German shepherd.
"Not only does Cpl. Tarczewski do a great job in serving the community, but he has also taken on the added task of training our newest K-9 team, Deputy Towns and K-9 Keanu. He is a fantastic K-9 handler and trainer, and we are glad to have him on our team.”
— RICK STALY, sheriff
"Being part of the K9 unit has me going to a lot of community events ... to show what they do, allow kids and adults to pet and interact with the dog," Tarczewski said. "As soon as the dog comes out, it's like a magnet: Everybody walks in, kids are smiling, they’re telling me about their dog. ... It’s something that we have in common, a love for dogs and pets."
Tarczewski, FCSO Cmdr. Jon Welker said, "has dedicated himself to serving his community through his selfless effort of outreach."
Tarczewski began working for the Flagler County Sheriff's Office for 10 years ago as a road patrol deputy and then a SWAT deputy, and moved to the K-9 Unit seven years ago.
"It was always something I wanted to do growing up," he said. Born on Long Island, Tarczewski, grew up in Flagler County and was hired at the FCSO after graduating from law enforcement academy.
Tarczewski didn't have dogs in the house growing up, but his year-old daughter is growing up around police dogs. In addition to Odin, the family cares for two retired FCSO K-9s: 12-year-old Repo and 10-year-old Tag.
"They have no problem rolling over on their back and letting kids give them belly scratches and pet them," Tarczewski said.
On the job, Odin has two major tasks — human odor tracking and narcotics detection — and is typically deployed a couple of times a day. Drug detection makes up about half of Odin's deployments, with the rest being article search, building searches and tracking. "Apprehension" — when the dog catches a suspect — is a smaller part of the job. Most suspects surrender when they see the K-9.
"Their nose is their number one tool in the tool box," Tarczewski said. "They probably do the work of about 10 to 15 deputies if you’re searching for something, whether it's a keyring lost in the grass or a suspect. It really speeds up the process."
Keeping the dog sharp means training for one or two hours daily, plus unit training with the other K-9s on Tuesday. The FCSO has four dual-purpose K-9s like Odin, plus a detection dog and a trailing bloodhound.
This summer, Odin was deployed on a stolen car that crashed into the woods, and helped catch two juvenile suspects. Tarczewski and Odin started at the car and worked their way along a path until Odin "alerted" to the human odor.
Sometimes, Tarczewski and Odin are called out to help the Florida Highway Patrol with narcotics detection; earlier this year, they helped U.S. Marshals search for a kidnapping suspect in Putnam County.
"To see all that hard work in the training scenario unfold and do well on the deployment side, it’s like your kid doing well at school or coming home with an award," Tarczewski said.
Outreach demonstrations are about once a week, helping to bolster a positive image of the Sheriff's Office in the community.
"I’ll bump into people at Lowes or Walmart and they’ll ask how the dogs are doing," Tarczewski said. "If I could retire in the K-9 unit, that’s my plan — best job in the agency."
