By Kevin Jefferies
Commerce – The Commerce Police Department has a new officer. Rocco, the department's new drug dog, has joined the force. Rocco is the culmination of an agreement between the City of Commerce and Commerce ISD in a joint effort to pay for and care for the dog. CISD paid up-front costs to secure the dog, but will see a significant discount for drug dog services on campus.
Commerce Police Officer Sonny Martin is Rocco's handler. The two are certified now to do all the K-9 functions. Rocco has already been used in a traffic stop where he found methamphetamine residue and drug paraphernalia.
Rocco will have three main functions. He will be used in article searches to locate weapons or items from a crime scene; he will be used to do tracking for the department in such cases as missing children; and of course Rocco will be used for narcotics searches during traffic stops and in locker searches at schools.