Sgt Darren Baptiste expected a typical day’s work at the Crown Point police station when he got a call from Sgt Arnell Jones, Tobago’s resident bomb technician, about a bomb threat at the Pentecostal Light and Life Secondary School in Scarborough.
It was 8 am on April 28.
The phone rang twice again: a canine officer in Trinidad and an officer at the Scarborough station also reported the threat.
“That’s the school my son goes to,” said Baptiste, the head of the Tobago canine section of the police service.
Baptiste grabbed a leash and his brindle Dutch shepherd, Riko, and headed down the road with sirens blaring.
[caption id="attachment_1017939" align="alignnone" width="918"] Sgt Darren Baptiste heads the canine Tobago section with eight dogs and eight officers. - Photo by David Reid[/caption]
His initial thought, that “someone was playing the fool,” vanished after the 12-minute drive to the school when he saw Jones, other police officers and fire officers there. Riko leaped into action, searching outside and then in every classroom and office.
Usually, canine officers work in pairs, but Riko worked alone because he is the only explosive detection dog currently stationed in Tobago.
Baptiste led his canine partner to each office and classroom, let the dog off leash, and stayed about 20 feet away while the dog searched.
Riko showed no interest in anything. His ears did not go up as they do when he locates an explosive device in training. He did not "freeze" as he is trained to do when he finds a suspicious item.
About halfway through the search, Jones told Baptiste the police had also received a threat about Signal Hill Comprehensive School.
[caption id="attachment_1017942" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Riko, the only tactical/explosive detection dog in TT, spends time honing his tactical skills. - Photo by David Reid[/caption]
They finished searching, but before the explosive detection team could reach the second school, they were told of threats to the Harmon School of Seventh-Day Adventists and Scarborough Secondary School.
“I asked myself, ‘What is going on?’” Baptiste told Sunday Newsday.
He had not yet seen the e-mail that threatened nine schools in Tobago and nearly 200 schools around the country.
“I knew I had to finish one school before going to another. I knew every school had been evacuated, so I thought, ‘Let’s hope there is no explosive device.'”
As Rico cleared an area, the bomb technician did his physical check. Every time Riko finished searching a room, he ran back to Baptiste.
“Riko is full of energy – very hyper – but he really surprises me on searches,” said Baptiste. “He will go and go. Once he gets water and a five-minute rest, he’s ready to go again. He never tires of the task – even when he doesn’t find anything.”
[caption id="attachment_1017940" align="alignnone" width="1024"] An energetic Riko gets training from PC Collis Joseph. - Photo by David Reid[/caption]
Baptiste continued to think about how tiring this day would be for Riko, but his confidence i
