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[brooke aldrich <spidersflies AT yahoo.com>]

This story was posted a few years ago (look at the
date) and the Mesa police department was subsequently
flooded with letters... they later explained that they
had no such plans, only that an overenthusiastic
member of the department had thought it was a good
idea!  Their press release follows:


For Release:
Contact: Holly Hosac
        Media Relations Specialist
        480 644.3994 Tel 480 475.4067 Pager

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Mesa Police Department Responds to East Valley Tribune
Article and Inquiries
On Saturday, April 16, the East Valley Tribune
published an article entitled “SWAT idea takes a swing
at crime – E.V. officer suggests making skillful
monkey part of team.”  The article was based on
discussions between Tribune reporter Kristina Davis
and SWAT Officer Sean Truelove while Davis attended
the Department’s SWAT school in March. The article
stated that the Mesa Police Department is seeking
approximately $100,000 in federal grant money to
purchase a monkey for use in SWAT operations. In fact,
this was exploratory in nature, as an inquiry was made
by Officer Truelove as he conducted research into the
feasibility of the idea.

While Officer Truelove explored the idea of training a
capuchin monkey for special-ops intelligence, and
submitted an inquiry to the U.S. Department of
Defense, the idea was never approved for use in Mesa
SWAT operations. Truelove sought guidance from the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency regarding
the cost and feasibility of the project; however, the
action should not be considered an official Mesa
Police Department grant request, as it was never
formally presented to, or approved by the Department’s
Command Staff.

“While we have always encouraged our Department
members to seek creative and innovative ways to
improve public safety in our community, we regret any
conclusions that were reached based on Saturday’s
Tribune article,” said Mesa Police Chief Dennis Donna.
“The purchase of a capuchin monkey has not been
considered by executive staff and I would like to be
certain that any media covering this story is properly
informed.”

Additional inquiries can be addressed to the Mesa
Police Department’s Media Relations Office.

--- Apesman2727 AT aol.com wrote:

> 
> 
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/21/wmonk21.xml
> 
> US  police force to recruit capuchin monkey for
> 'intelligence' work
> 
> By Tom  Leonard in New York
> Last Updated: 1:05am BST 21/04/2005
> 
> An American  police force is planning to sign up a
> monkey to reinforce
> its elite special  operations team.
> 
> Members of the special weapons and tactics (SWAT)
> unit  in Mesa,
> Arizona, believe that a capuchin monkey, dressed in
> a  bullet-proof
> jacket and equipped with a two-way radio and video
> camera, could  prove
> an invaluable reconnaissance tool.
> 
> The SWAT team's commander has  agreed to a
> feasibility study into the
> use of a capuchin monkey. Sean  Truelove, a SWAT
> officer who builds and
> operates reconnaissance robots, has  applied for a
> £53,000 federal
> grant to fund the four-year monkey project. 
> Capuchins have already
> been trained to be companions to quadriplegics, 
> performing tasks such
> as serving food, turning off lights and brushing
> hair.  Mr Truelove
> said the same training could prepare a capuchin
> monkey for  police
> intelligence work.
> 
> He said the monkeys, which weigh only 3-8lb  and
> whose puzzle-solving
> skills are enhanced by tiny, dexterous human-like 
> hands, could unlock
> doors, search buildings and find injured people upon
>  command.
> 
> Their size could allow them into places that
> officers and robots  could
> not reach, such as attic rafters, he said.
> "Everybody laughs about  it
> until they really start thinking about it. It would
> change the way  we
> do business."
> advertisement
> 
> Mr Truelove is prepared for  potential opposition
> from animal rights
> groups and insists that the capuchin  would not be
> sent into action if
> "the threat level is too high". Gloves for  its
> hands and feet would
> protect it from broken glass.
> 
> Just as he has  never known a suspect to harm a
> robot, he predicted
> that criminals would be  "too stunned" by the
> capuchin's appearance to
> hurt  it.
> 
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