Officer retires from Richland sheriff unit, another starts. Both have nose for the job

For 10 years, one Richland County Sheriff’s Department officer has sniffed out crime and been a dogged community servant, and now he’s retiring. In those 10 years, he was also barking and wagging his tail.

Officer Arko, a police dog with the sheriff’s department, had his last day on the force Saturday. A retirement party for Arko was held at North Springs Park in Northeast Columbia.

Retiring with Arko is his human partner, 1st Lt. Kevin Hoover. For years, the two “were the face of our K9 Unit,” the sheriff’s department says.

Arko is a Belgian Malinois who came to Richland County from Slovakia. He worked in criminal apprehension, tracking and narcotic detection.

“Lieutenant Hoover and his K-9 partner not only enjoy removing criminals and the criminal element from the streets of Richland County they also enjoy visiting schools and community events educating citizens of the full potential of the Richland County K-9 Unit,” the sheriff’s department says on its website.

Beyond catching criminals and helping make arrests, Arko helped strengthen the departments reputation, Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference.

“Arko’s done a great job,” Lott said. “I think he’s really opened up a lot of people’s eyes on police K-9s and our ability to go out into communities and build relationship with lots of different people. ... We wish Arko and Lt. Hoover a good retirement. They both earned it.”

While Arko’s place is solidified in Richland County’s annals, the work of the K-9 Unit requires a complete team. Friday, Lott announced the recruitment of a new officer — Emy, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois from Holland.

The new dog on the force will help the sheriff’s department with community relations, Lott said. But she’s also going to be doing another job that Arko was good at.

“Emy can catch the bad guys just like Arko does,” Lott said.

This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 9:15 AM.