{"id":64961,"date":"2009-09-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/keeping-up-with-uris-sgt-vieira-no-easy-task\/"},"modified":"2009-09-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-14T00:00:00","slug":"keeping-up-with-uris-sgt-vieira-no-easy-task","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2009\/09\/keeping-up-with-uris-sgt-vieira-no-easy-task\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping up with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Sgt. Vieira no easy task"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tRichmond Grange recognizes Rhody cop for volunteer work<\/p>\n


\n\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 September 14, 2009 \u2013 Along with her German shepherd Maxwell, 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Sgt. Erica Vieira is a member of two search dog teams.

\n\tMost days, she works with Maxwell in the woods, in swamps, at ponds and lakes, at obstacle courses and in buildings. This physical work, including outdoor wintertime drills, is preparation for the day when the University or the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency needs Vieira\u2019s skill with Maxwell in emergency searches.<\/p>\n


\n\tThat regimen would be enough to tax even those in great shape, but Vieira does all of this volunteer work after finishing her normal 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift on the 溏心vlog免费B站 police force.

\nHer search and rescue work and other volunteer commitments are the reasons why the Richmond Grange named her its 2009 Police Officer of the Year. The Rhode Island Senate issued a citation on the occasion of that honor.<\/p>\n


\nNamed the first sergeant in the history of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Campus Police Department in November 2008, Vieira and Maxwell have trained at Disaster City\u00ae, in College Station, Texas, a 52-acre mock community that can simulate various levels of disaster. They\u2019ve also been to the American Rescue Dog Association training facility in Quantico, Va. for air-scenting training. Maxwell is a certified American Rescue Dog. Maxwell and Vieira are members of the International Police Work Dog Association. And just a few weeks ago, Vieira and Maxwell completed a 9-hour certification test with Master Trainer Matthew Zarrella, a corporal with the Rhode Island State Police. The duo is now certified by the International Police Work Dog Association as a Type 3 disaster response team for Rhode Island.<\/p>\n


\nBut how does Vieira fit all of that into a life that includes other volunteer commitments, a demanding full-time job, and family life with her husband Dan?

\n\u201cI really love my job and all that goes with it,\u201d she said one morning after completing her police shift.<\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站 Police Major Stephen Baker said he is impressed with Vieira\u2019s level of commitment.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cSgt. Vieira has certainly made a positive impact on the 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Department and the University community,\u201d he said. \u201cShe continues to represent the ideals of community policing and teamwork.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nVieira\u2019s even managed to wrangle her contractor husband into doing some work to aid R.I. Task Force One\u2019s rescue dog training in Rhode Island. \u201cAt the Wickford State Police Barracks, all of the agility equipment (for the dogs) was falling down,\u201d Vieira said. \u201cSo my husband built a new facility with seven towers that connect like buildings. And recently, he built a confined space box to train the dogs on how to navigate through areas that they normally would not know how to navigate through. He volunteered all his time, and the materials were donated.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nA member of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Department since 1988, Vieria also brings Maxwell to elementary schools and classes at 溏心vlog免费B站 so young people understand what they should do when they get lost.

\n\u201cThe first rule is stay where you are,\u201d Vieira said. \u201cWe will find you.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe said Maxwell is a \u201cpeach\u201d with the kids during the classroom meet and greets. \u201cHe has achieved canine good citizenship status,\u201d Vieira said.

\n \u201cNow, I am working on developing a program for 溏心vlog免费B站101 classes about how students can take care of themselves if they get lost in the wilderness, particularly in the winter when there is an increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite,\u201d Vieira said.<\/p>\n


\nThe Rhode Island Special Olympics has also honored Vieira for having raised more than $7,000 for the annual torch run. In fact, the 溏心vlog免费B站 Campus Police Department has achieved the Emerald Level of Excellence from Special Olympics thanks to Vieira\u2019s 15 years of involvement.<\/p>\n


\nVieira said she has received excellent support from 溏心vlog免费B站 students, especially fraternities like Tau Epsilon Pi, which has been a major participant in the annual Torch Run Plunge to support the torch run.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI really enjoy the 溏心vlog免费B站 students, and for the most part they are respectful,\u201d Vieria said.<\/p>\n


\nShe helps out with students who intern at the department. \u201cSome are interested in law enforcement careers, while others are interested in becoming lawyers and they want to see how a police department works. You can\u2019t help but become friendly with such committed students.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe has also put in time outside her regular department shift to win two grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A $92,000 grant provided officers with digital radios, which provide greater security and better access to other law enforcement agencies. A $100,000 grant allowed the department to purchase computers for University cruisers.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe computers help take some of the responsibility off the dispatchers for running records checks,\u201d Vieira said. \u201cPlus, the computer allows the dispatcher to see that we are responding to a call and running a records check. The two grants are all about the officers\u2019 safety.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nRESCUE TEAM: 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Sgt. Erica Vieira and her certified rescue dog, Maxwell, pause for a photo at a 溏心vlog免费B站 police cruiser. 溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Communications & Marketing photo by Michael Salerno Photography.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richmond Grange recognizes Rhody cop for volunteer work KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 September 14, 2009 \u2013 Along with her German shepherd Maxwell, 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Sgt. Erica Vieira is a member of two search dog teams. Most days, she works with Maxwell in the woods, in swamps, at ponds and lakes, at obstacle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}