Fredo 1998- 2003

Bak Sebechov "Fredo" (Served 1998 to 2003)

In 1998 Bak Sebechov "Fredo" became Cottage Grove’s new Police Service Dog and his first night of patrol duty was on May 10, 1998. Fredo was born on October 12, 1993 in the Czech Republic, as opposed to Germany where Buddy was born and trained. Germany and the Czech Republic are world renowned for breeding and selling quality German Shepherds. Adlerhorst purchases dogs from these locations after they have been Schutzhund trained and titled.

Britt and Fredo worked together for a short time until Britt moved outside of the Cottage Grove area. The Police Department’s K-9 program requires the handler to live within a reasonable distance to the city limits so the K-9 team can be called into service, and respond quickly, when the officer is off-duty. Britt handed over the K-9 program to Officer Steve Timm who became Fredo’s new handler. Steve was trained locally by retired Police Sergeant Al Carlson from the Springfield Police department. Al Carlson played a major role in beginning Springfield’s Police K-9 program in the early 1980’s and is a Master Trainer and member of the Oregon Police Canine Association (OPCA). The OPCA sets standards for Oregon Police Service Dogs. To learn more about the OPCA and Oregon’s Police Service Dog history, see the link to their web-site below.

Officer Steve Timm and K-9 Fredo were certified in November of 1998. Fredo has become a member of Steve’s family and they have excelled, as a K-9 team, by making numerous captures and assists. A good K-9 team can save the city large amounts of money by shortening the amount of time spent on a scene. For example, when a building alarm has gone off and a K-9 team responds to a large building that may take 30 minutes or so for 3-4 officers to search the building, a K-9 team can search the same building in about 10 minutes or less. K-9 teams are also credited for tracking and capturing fleeing or hiding criminals that could not possibly have been found by officers who are searching the area on foot, especially at night or in wooded areas. A good example of this type of capture occurred in Veneta. Lane County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic disturbance where the suspect committed a felony assault on his girlfriend. Deputies chased the suspect through a neighborhood where the suspect also committed a home invasion. He was eventually chased into a wooded area that had very dense underbrush. Deputies could not possibly search this very large area so they quickly set up a perimeter containing the suspect. Officer Timm and K-9 Fredo were called into action and responded to track the suspect. By the time the K-9 team arrived, the track was more than 40 minutes old. Officer Steve Timm was told where the suspect was last seen and he deployed K-9 Fredo. Within 5 minutes the suspect was located hiding under dense underbrush that an officer may have completely walked by. The suspect was taken into custody by deputies. Cottage Grove’s K-9 team is often called into service by agencies, such as  the Oregon State Police, who does not have a K-9 program.

As you can see, K-9 teams can not only save money, but they also provide an environment that is much safer for officers. As in the last example, an officer could have very easily been injured or killed by not seeing a suspect hiding in a bush and walking right by him. K-9 Fredo detected the suspect approximately 25 yards prior to reaching his location. The handler noticed that Fredo had scented the suspect and of course approached the area with much more caution and allowed the dog to be released off-leash after an announcement was made. By taking the dog off-leash, the handler can stay back and allow the Police Dog to locate and detain the suspect until officers can approach more safely. This type of scenario goes hand in hand with building searches where buildings may provide numerous places for suspects to hide where officers may not see them until they are right on top of them. The Cottage Grove Humane Society recently noticed the risk that K-9 Fredo was taking when being placed in this type of situation. They responded by purchasing Fredo a bulletproof vest that offers the same protection that his handler has. Fredo wears the vest when he is placed in a situation where the handler knows or has reason to believe the suspect is armed.

Oddly enough, on October 10, 2000, Officer Britt Munoz (Fredo’s former handler) and Officer Steve Timm were working together on a graveyard shift when they attempted to arrest a robbery suspect. The suspect began to attack the officers and they could not subdue him. It is believed he was under the influence of narcotics, which may have included pain-altering effects. The suspect was sprayed with pepper spray and struck with police batons while the officers attempted to retreat from the suspect. The suspect was on the offensive and continued his attack by choking and striking Officer Munoz knocking him to the ground. During the struggle Officer Timm struck the suspect numerous times with no results. The suspect turned his attack on Officer Timm, also striking him numerous times and knocking him to the ground. Officer Munoz realized the suspect could not be taken into custody without someone being killed or seriously injured. He ran to Officer Timm’s K-9 car, which was very close, and released Fredo. Fredo engaged the suspect and Officers Munoz and Timm were able to regroup while the suspect focused on Fredo who was quickly gaining the upper hand. The suspect struck Fredo repeatedly and even tried choking him out at one point. Fredo never gave in and after a two-minute struggle, he pulled the suspect to the ground where the suspect was then taken into custody. The suspect was later charged with numerous crimes, including Attempted Aggravated Murder on the officers. He was also charged with Interfering with a Police Animal for his assault on Fredo. Shortly thereafter, the City Council awarded Fredo a Medal of Distinction for his heroism and valor.

On August 1st, 2003, Fredo retired from service due to his age.  Fredo continues to live with Officer Timm and his family.