Just like Gotham, Heber City has a character named Bane who occasionally wears a mask. But unlike Batman’s nemesis, this Bane is on the right side of the law.
The Heber City Police Department’s newest recruit is a shepherd mix who recently completed his six-week K-9 certification course at the Peace Officers Standard and Training campus in Sandy alongside his human handler, Officer Jesse Bell.
“He’s a pup. He’s a handful,” Bell said, holding a curious Bane back by his leash. “The hard part is, right now, he’s like a new officer out of the academy. … It was all new to him, and to me as well. We’ll just continue to grow together.”
Bane was the youngest in the K-9 police academy, somewhere between 12 and 14 months, surrounded by grizzled canines undergoing training with their humans.
His expertise is sniffing out narcotics, namely methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana. He will also be trained to apprehend suspects alongside Heber City’s SWAT team in the summer.
“The mere presence of the dog can sometimes de-escalate a situation and not require an officer to use force,” said Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever.
In some cases, just the perceived presence of a canine can do the same.
“I had one situation at my last agency. We had two officers, and we were riding together. We got into pursuit. The guy got out and bailed,” Sever said. “I started running after the guy, and my other partner started barking, and the guy dove on the ground because he thought a dog was coming for him.”
Bane is the Police Department’s first K-9 unit since 2012. Sever doesn’t know why the program stopped, nor anything about the four dogs with framed photographs in the halls of the police station. But Sever said a new K-9 has been on many officers’ wish lists since he joined the department in 2023.
Community contributions made Bane’s purchase possible. Karl Malone Auto Group, Mountainland One Stop convenience store and The Hub restaurant, longtime partners of the police department, donated the funds to purchase Bane from a Polish breeder — about $15,000 was Sever’s estimate. Tractor Supply Co. and CMC Concrete provided further donations, including Bane’s kennel.
Thanks to these donations, the only taxpayer funds paying for Bane are regular officer pay for Bell as he trains him and the costs associated with food and healthcare for the dog, Sever said.
Bell is the only officer certified to handle Bane. Sever said the officer was chosen by a panel of Police Department representatives and a dog handler from Salt Lake County for his “even-keeled” personality.
If Bell were to leave the police department for any reason, Bane would be put through training again with a new handler, assuming he’s still young enough to learn new tricks.
But Bane and Bell are likely bonded for life. Bane is Bell’s first dog and already lives at Bell’s house when he’s off-shift. When Bane retires, he will stay with Bell, who has already had discussions with his wife about how difficult it would be to just give Bane away.
“They’re highly trained and you can’t just give them to anybody. They have to be taken care of the rest of their lives,” Sever said. “They put their lives on the line, just like the officers do. They provide a lot of value, so it’s important that they’re valued.”
Bell said an important lesson he’s been teaching Bane is that “it’s OK to go out and have fun” when he’s off work.
“His favorite toy is a ball and rope,” Bell said. “That’s just his whole life. That’s why he does it.”
Bane will continue training for 16 hours a month until July, but has already begun proper police work. Bane will be formally sworn in during the Heber City Council on Jan. 6.