NBPD K9 Tracks Intoxicated Subject: Police

The North Branford Police Department’s police dog, , made his first apprehension on Oct. 1 after he successfully tracked a man who had allegedly run away from his vehicle after a crash.

The NBPD responded to a motor vehicle accident on West Pond Road at 12:30 a.m. where witnesses told them a vehicle had crashed into UI utility pole guide wires but fled the scene traveling south. Officers found a heavily damaged and smoking vehicle in the driveway to 2 West Pond Road.

The vehicle was unoccupied. The registration showed the owner resided at that location. When they checked at the residence, officers were told that the family member who normally drives that vehicle was not at home. 

K9 Officer Mauro Piroli and his partner Chase responded and began a track from the vehicle. Chase led Piroli through a wooded area behind the home where they located Todd Beardsley, who police later identified as the owner of the vehicle. He was reportedly hiding beneath a rock ledge.

"We had no direction to look, there's a lot of open area to search and being that it was in the early morning hours, darkness would've hampered any search efforts," said Lieutenant David D'Ancicco. "Plus it wasn't a person who was injured, it was someone who was trying to elude capture so without the assistance of the canine, I don't know that we would have been able to find him."

Beardsley, 39, was charged with driving while intoxicated, evading responsibility and failure to drive in the established lane. He was released on a $500 non-surety bond with a court appearance date of Oct. 12.