Hero K9 credited with multiple busts

A Paterson police K9 (and his two-legged partner) are credited with multiple finds over a 10-day period, according the city’s public safety director.

The dog’s name is Simpson and his handler is Officer Novar Vidal, and they’ve been busy, finding drugs and weapons in some pretty strange places, authorities say.

As reported on NorthJersey.com and TapInto.net, on June 18th, Simpson found drugs inside a backyard grill: 118 envelopes of heroin as well as a loaded handgun. Just hours later he discovered more than 300 bags of heroin and vials of crack cocaine behind a wheel chair leaning against a fence, authorities say.

Simpson was back at it again on June 26, dealing with kind of a unique situation: There was a can of shaving cream stuffed in a tree branch, except the can didn’t actually have shaving cream in it, police say. It had 10 folds of heroin and 25 crack vials, according to police. Within an hour, Simpson came through again, discovering another hand gun in a wood pile, they say.

DailyVoice.com reports how on Sunday, according to police, Simpson found 24 more glassine bags of heroin, this time tucked under the vinyl siding of a house, and later that day, unearthed another handgun, a 9mm behind an air conditioner. That’s quite a 10-day stretch!

Paterson Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said in a statement that Vidal and Simpson are “invaluable partners” in removing dangerous weapons and illegal drugs off the streets.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.