MetroHealth Police Department Receives Grant to Add New K9
The MetroHealth Police Department is the recipient of a SRT K9 Unit - Police K-9 Grant that will allow them to add a Police K9 Officer to the team.
“As MetroHealth grows, it will be good to have another tool for safety and security,” says MetroHealth Police Department Chief Frank Bova.
In addition to the dog, the grant covers a six-week training course at Excel K-9 Services and a tactical K9 vest, along with supplies.
MetroHealth applied for the grant and was interviewed as part of the application process. MetroHealth Police Officer Anthony Konieczka has been selected to be the K9 handler; the dog is expected to start patrolling with him this summer, says Chief Bova. The K9 team will patrol primarily at main campus, but will also visit other health center locations.
The Ripepi Family – which owns A. Ripepi & Sons Funeral Homes, Inc. – announced MetroHealth as a recipient of a SRT K9 Unit - Police K-9 Grant, along with four other local police departments: Brunswick Police Department, Cleveland Police Department, Euclid Police Department and the Parma Heights Police Department.
The grant was made possible by funds raised during The Danny Ripepi Memorial Concert, a charity event that took place last September at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica on the West Bank of the Flats.
Danny Ripepi was killed in a tragic accident in 2020. The memorial concert is an opportunity to give back to the community he loved so much.
Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.
