Epic day as police dog steals the show

Epic the police dog connects with his target. Photo / George Novak

Hundreds of people clapped and cheered as a "baddie" grabbed a gun and pretended to shoot at police before being brought down by police dog Epic at Tauranga Police's open day.

The exciting event wrapped up the day's activities at the Tauranga Police Station, with hundreds of people cramming on the Monmount Redoubt Reserve to watch the police dog and armed offenders squad display.

Senior Sergeant Kane Cording padded up and acted the part of the "baddie", swinging a baseball bat around and yelling at police.

Mr Cording threw away the bat and went for the tree in the middle of the reserve, where a toy rifle was hidden away.

He pretended to shoot at the police, with blanks firing and banging around him, then police dog Epic jumped in and grabbed Mr Cording's arm, bringing him to the ground. The armed offenders squad surrounded him and Epic released his arm.

Western Bay of Plenty Police area commander Inspector Clifford Paxton said the day went well, with good interest from members of the public. Mr Paxton manned the custody area and said it was packed. "It was a big turn-out. There were lots of mums, dads and kids and a wide range of people coming through."

Mr Paxton said it was good to see the different services at the open day, such as Neighbourhood Support, Community Patrol, and Search and Rescue.

At the day were senior crime officers, armed offenders squad members, road policing team members, and Police Ten-7 host Detective Sergeant Rob Lemoto was posing for photos. A sausage sizzle gave away 1250 sausages.

Watching the display were Jack Fanelli, 10, and Lucy Fanelli, 8. Jack said he had been "really excited" to see the police dog and it was as awesome as he had hoped. The display with Epic and the armed offenders squad was the highlight of the day.

Lucy's favourite part was the gun shots and when Epic did not let go of Mr Cording's arm. Her grandfather used to be a police man so it was exciting seeing what his job would have been like.