My eyes search the darkness while my racing heart slows. It had seemed so real. Realizing it was a nightmare and I was safe in bed, a smile slowly forms. I recall Bob Seger's lyrics, “And those are the memories that make me a wealthy man.” I had just dreamt of a mish-mash of night tracks that Cisco and I had done years ago in pursuit of felons. Cisco was the name of my police dog and together we were known as K926 in the Michigan State Police (MSP).
It had been an imaginary nightmare, but try as I might, I cannot sleep. I decide to go for a night hike in a large forest adjacent my home. I lace up my boots, grab a flashlight, my Glock, and walk into the dark woods.
As I traipse through the forest, I wonder how many citizens have worked a midnight shift, let alone been called from their bed to track a dangerous criminal in the darkness. To do so is a gambler's lot. For me, it turned out well. Fate would always have K9 Cisco and I complete all missions unscathed. For others, through no fault of their own, not the case. In the eerie atmosphere of days passed memories are revisited.
A past colleague’s brush with death comes to mind. Our paths crossed during a building search training exercise, a time when he was beginning his dog handler tenure and I nearing the end of mine. I recalled our meeting when I learned of his ordeal.
It was a mid-morning July day and Trooper Charles Loader and K9 Max were on patrol when they were dispatched to Montcalm County, the next county north. The brevity of the radio traffic indicated they were to assist the MSP Emergency Services Team (EST), commonly known as SWAT, in locating a murder suspect. Having been a dog handler for five years, Loader had tracked and captured numerous felons, but this day would be like no other.
Upon arrival at the rural residence, Loader sees that another K9 team is also there, Trooper Warren Miller and K9 Radar, along with several EST members. Sergeant Harry Norman, the EST leader, briefs them. Loader learns that the Montcalm County Sheriff's Department had requested the EST serve a murder warrant on a 53-year-old man who was a Vietnam veteran. Information indicated the suspect was a survivalist and had placed many blinds and bunkers in the fields and forest surrounding his home.
At 7:30 AM, the EST attempted to serve the warrant. As they surrounded the suspect's house, they were surprised to see a hammock hanging at the edge of the yard and the suspect quickly roll from it and disappear into the woods. They knew better than to give immediate chase. K9 Units and a helicopter were then requested to aid them in their hunt for the suspect.
With air support, a skirmish line was formed with nine EST members spaced about 25 yards apart and a K9 team at each end. To visualize it, I Imagine a wiener roasting fork with two short prongs. The K9 teams were positioned at each prong. When possible, the formation would push into the wind in hopes the police dogs would scent the suspect ahead of contact.
From one section to another, they searched to no avail. It was around 7:00 PM when the chopper, in a series of relays, air-lifted the officers to the furthest section to be searched. As before, Trooper Loader and K9 Max would be at the right end of the line, with Trooper Miller and K9 Radar at the left. For better or worse, their luck was about to change.
The skirmish line ran north to south and moved west. Not long into the advance, Trooper Loader and K9 Max had to blindly work through thick brambles and saplings. K9 Max was on a leash and keeping it from getting entangled in the brush was distracting. Looking back and left, Loader would get glimpses of Sergeant Norman, the officer closest to him in the skirmish line.
As Loader crested a knoll, he heard an officer shout, “Put your hands up and come out.” Again he looked to Sergeant Norman, seeing that he had shouldered his rifle. Loader could not see the suspect but guessed his location from Sergeant Norman’s pointed weapon and moved to a flanking position. With his pistol in his right hand and leash in his left, Loader dropped to one knee, his dog at his side.
There, Loader could hear shouted words being exchanged with the suspect. The suspect sounded close but, try as he might, Loader could not see him. He then heard an officer shout, “He’s in a bunker.” And then the suspect yell, “I didn’t mean to kill the guy” and then something like “I don’t want to hurt you guys. Get the f—k off my property.”
EST members repeatedly told the suspect to give up and he wouldn’t be hurt. Loader then heard the suspect yell, “I’m going to give you a count of three and I’m going to start shooting.” From the suspect’s yelling, Loader could tell he was not far ahead of him but still out of sight. With the suspect in a bunker, Loader believed it would be a suicide mission to send K9 Max so he held his leash tight.
As Loader heard the invisible suspect shout “one-two,” he sensed he was in the suspect’s gunsight. The only cover available was a lone tree stump ahead of him and he dove for it as he heard “three.” Whether LOADER felt the burn of the bullet or its report first, he is not sure. The bullet struck him in the head at the hairline, above his left eye.
Like a pheasant shot in flight, Loader crumbled in his lunge, smacking his pistol against his face, just below his left eye. For a moment, Loader wondered if he was dead or alive. Blood flowing into his left eye caused him to instinctively close both until he consciously opened just his right. At least for now, his life had been spared as the longest two hours of it began.
Laying on his left side, the blood no longer flowed into his eye. Loader spooned K9 Max, now holding his collar in his left hand, pistol ready in his right. With a barrage of gunfire being exchanged with the suspect, Loader calmed K9 Max by whispering into his ear. The microphone for his radio had been lost in the lunge. Surrounded by gunfire, no functioning radio, and not knowing how badly he was wounded, Loader was pinned down, alone with his dog.
The search team had unknowingly entered an ambush. To extricate themselves, they would use a series of cover-fire maneuvers. Leaving snipers to hopefully keep the suspect confined, EST regrouped to do a head count. It was then they realized that Loader was missing. Not knowing if he was dead or alive, they formed a plan to recover him. Running low on ammunition, they radioed for more. Darkness loomed.
From both sides, the gunfire became more sporadic. When the suspect fired, Loader could hear the nearby “chunk-chunk-chunk” of the heavy bolt of the M1 Garand rifle. With the helicopter sweeping the area he heard the suspect shout something like, “The next time that chopper flies over, I’m going to lead it by four feet and shoot it down.” The snipers heard the threat and relayed it to the chopper as it then circled from afar.
As time slowly passed, Loader sensed the left side of his body was going numb. Then, K9 Max alerted with a low growl. Loader could hear the suspect coming towards him in the thick brush. Holding K9 Max’s collar in his left hand, pistol in his right, he commanded K9 Max to bark. The approaching footsteps now reversed.
Only a few more minutes had passed when Loader then heard creeping noises coming from behind him. He knew his brothers in blue were coming to rescue him but feared he might become the victim of friendly fire. To mediate that, while lying prone he began tapping his heels together to make a non-threatening noise.
Soon he heard a hushed voice say, “Who is that?” - He answered, “It’s Loader.” - “Are you okay?” - “I’ve been headshot.” - “We’ll come get you.” - “No, stay back as there is no cover here; I’ll crawl back to you.”
Loader, as quietly as he could, then crawled backward, leading with his feet. When he crested over the knoll, he felt they were now out of the suspect's field of fire. Loader was finally amongst his brethren. After completing a rapid assessment of his condition, Loader was assisted to a nearby Med Flight helicopter and flown to a hospital.
The celebration was brief as the mission was not complete; the hunt continued. Trooper Warren Miller and K9 Radar would next confront the suspect in an exchange of gunfire. In the darkness, EST troopers could see the suspect's muzzle flash, providing a target to return accurate fire. While one of their ballistic shields would be struck by a round from the suspect, the suspect would be killed by overwhelming gunfire.
While head wounds bleed profusely, when the blood was washed away at the hospital, Loader’s wound was found to be a crease. He would be back to work in a week.
My thoughts return to here and now. As I hike in the dark, using my flashlight sparsely and reminding myself to look up, down, and all around as previously trained, my thoughts turn to K9 Cisco, my late police dog. While he often towed me into danger, he had kept me safe. K9 Cisco had well served the Citizens of Michigan and when he retired, he lived out his life with me. I remember taking him camping and how as retired, as many officers do, he assumed the security guard role.
When Cisco napped by the fireplace, he sometimes growled and kicked as he slept. I wondered what he was dreaming and how he remembered our adventures together. Was it a good dream or a bad nightmare? Like many officers, he never really adapted to retirement, relishing the past excitement of being a law dog.
Dawn is approaching as I return home, the eastern skyline now pink. My solo night hike has been a journey down memory lane. For me, I feel fortunate to have won the gamblers lot.
AFTERMATH
After the aforementioned incident, Loader’s next K9 call was to search for a lost person. Into the dark they went where he was nearly overcome by a panic attack. Following this, Loader would seek counseling from Dr. Richard Smith, a departmental psychologist. He would eventually be diagnosed with PTSD.
Trooper Charles Loader received an MSP ‘Bravery Award’ and a Michigan Chief of Police ‘Medal of Honor Award’ for his actions on that fateful day. He would leave the canine unit a year and half later after this incident. In 2010, He retired from the MSP as a First Lieutenant Section Commander. In 2024, he was the recipient of the newly established MSP ‘Blue Diamond Award’ which recognizes officers injured in the line of duty. As of this writing, he is the Director of Essential Security Services.
What is a man, but the sum of his memories.”
Clay Kazmarek
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