Ogden School District, police tap gun-sniffing K-9 to aid with school safety

OGDEN — Ogden School District has a new assistant in efforts to keep the system’s schools safe — a firearms- and explosives-sniffing dog named Piper.

“Piper’s primary role is to detect firearms, ammunition and some explosive materials, contributing to the prevention of potential threats on school grounds,” the Ogden Police Department and Ogden School District said in a statement on Monday. The end goal is to become “the safest school district in Utah.”

The new assistant, a 2-year-old female German short-haired pointer, makes the district only the second in Utah to have a police K-9 capable of sniffing out guns, after Granite School District in Salt Lake County. Ogden Police Lt. William Farr said Piper, who started active service in April, will help with routine sweeps and offer help when authorities suspect guns or explosives may be on the grounds of a school. She’s also a good public relations ambassador and deploys to elementary schools for demonstrations.

“To date, no firearms have been detected by Piper on Ogden School District campuses, which is a testament to the district’s proactive safety measures,” reads Monday’s statement. Ogden police serve as school resource officers in district schools, and the dog has assisted in detecting firearms in police calls outside schools.

Ogden High School was one of several Utah schools targeted on March 29, 2023, by phoned-in reports of alleged shootings on school grounds, later deemed to be hoaxes. The turn of events prompted alarm at Ogden High School and a quick response by law enforcement authorities. It also figured in the passage of legislation last March, HB84, to bolster security in Utah schools.

In April, meantime, Weber School District officials reported four incidents involving firearms and Roy High School students, three involving weapons on school grounds and the fourth involving a student with a gun just off high school grounds. Weber School District covers all of Weber County outside of Ogden. No one was injured, but the incidents, which occurred between April 11 and 30, caused consternation among many parents.

Among other security measures in Ogden School District, officials installed new security systems at the start of the 2022-23 school year at elementary and junior high schools that didn’t have them. Visitors are visible via camera and screened before being allowed entry. Per HB84, each Utah school will have to have one armed person to assist with security by next year, and Farr said Ogden school and law enforcement officials have been working on a plan.

“They’re right on track,” Farr said.

Gun-sniffing dogs like Piper aren’t part of the required security enhancements outlined in HB84.

Moreover, the school resource officers serving Ogden schools have each received a “portable breaching kit” that allow them quicker access to locked and barricaded areas during emergencies and incidents.

Security questions aside, Ben Lomond High School Principal Veldon Wardle said Piper helps with morale at the school. Piper “has been a positive influence on the social-emotional well-being of our students,” he said.