Hermantown K9 Bruno Sniffs Out Drugs, Leading to Three Arrests

Three people were arrested Tuesday evening after Hermantown Police K9 Bruno alerted to narcotics inside a suspect vehicle, transforming a tire-slashing complaint at a local business into a felony drug investigation.

Officers were dispatched to the business following a report that someone had slashed a tire. People in the area supplied the license plate number of the suspect vehicle, a tip that allowed officers to quickly locate the car with all three occupants still inside. One of the three admitted to slashing the tire on the spot.

That admission prompted officers to deploy K9 Bruno for a vehicle sniff. Bruno alerted, and the subsequent search uncovered a felony amount of controlled substances.

The man who admitted to the slashing was arrested for Criminal Damage to Property and fifth-degree controlled substance possession. A second person in the vehicle was also arrested for fifth-degree possession. The third was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant.

Under Minnesota Statute § 152.025, fifth-degree possession of a Schedule I through IV controlled substance carries penalties up to five years in prison and fines reaching $10,000. The felony-amount designation in this case suggests the charges could extend beyond that standard threshold.

The Hermantown Police Department publicly thanked the community members who provided the license plate number, calling it key to locating the vehicle. Chief Jim Crace's 16-member department maintains two K9 teams, structured so at least one is on duty every day. Bruno is part of HPD's newer generation of German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mixes. Predecessor dogs Tuuko and Jack averaged 50 call-outs per year during their tenures, contributed to 87 arrests, and assisted in more than 80 building searches, 40 area searches, and 40 evidence searches.

Partial funding for the program comes through the Amsoil Northland K-9 Foundation, a nonprofit now contributing $20,000 per new K9 unit startup across 20 units in eight area departments. Foundation President Robbin Champaigne has said: "Budgets get tighter and tighter for these agencies, and without these dogs, this important work wouldn't get done as effectively."

The HPD has partnered with the Lake Superior Drug and Gang Task Force since 2005, working alongside the Duluth Police Department, the Superior Police Department, and the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office on high-level narcotics enforcement through federal Byrne Grant funding.