Flash, pop, growl, caught!

With a flash and squeal of sirens, a pop of a flash bang and the chase of a bad guy by a trained K-9 officer, the demonstration of the capabilities of law enforcement against drug traffickers amazed and entertained children from four Covington schools on Friday as they ended Red Ribbon Week.

The annual “Just Say No” parade and rally ended at Pitcher Junior High’s stadium as students from St. Peter’s School, Covington Elementary, Lyon Elementary and Pine View Middle shouted “Just Say No!” and recited the Just Say No pledge.

The biggest crowd ever was assembled for demonstrations by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Covington Fire Department, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana National Guard, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection.

The Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, demonstrated the use of the flash bang smoke bomb that allows them time to surround a vehicle and take down criminals. The use of K-9 officer Roscoe, a Belgian malinois, to take a criminal was also demonstrated. The officer pretending to be the criminal wore protective clothing so the dog could not harm him.

The training of the dog was also demonstrated as he chased the “criminal” and was told to halt in mid-chase.

K-9 Specialist Torri Tsagournos said that the dogs are expensive to buy and even more expensive to properly train.

Members of various agencies addressed the students, telling them what they did and why it’s important to obey the law.

In one demonstration, a volunteer was sought to play a really tough guy. Bertin Latuso, a fifth-grader from Pine View Middle School, was selected to play the part of the bad guy as U. S. Customs and Border Patrol agents arrested him and handcuffed him.

Various pieces of law enforcement equipment, including two helicopters, the SWAT truck, boats and patrol cars parked on the field for up close and personal inspection by the students.

The most important lesson of the day was to stay drug free.