EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat UAPD officer Kyle Morrison and his bomb-sniffing dog, Michael, took time yesterday to explain and demonstrate their skills outside UAPD headquarters. They will be providing security at the Republican National Convention next week in New York City.

A UAPD officer and his bomb-sniffing canine are being deployed to the Republican National Convention to help sniff out bombs and respond to any possible terrorist threats.

UAPD officer Kyle Morrison, three members of the Air Force's Explosive Ordinance Disposal team and Tucson Police Department officer Mike Conto, who also has a bomb-sniffing dog, will attend the convention in New York City August 30 to September 2.

Air Force Staff Sergeant Israel Delgado said the group is being sent to deal with explosives and respond to emergencies.

Delgado said the Air Force explosive ordinance disposal team is trained to deal with anything from a bullet to a nuclear weapon.

Delgado said that although his team has always supported the Secret Service and been deployed to national events, it has become more visible since Sept. 11, 2001.

Delgado said the team will wear civilian clothes to blend in at the conference and they will be available wherever needed.

Delgado said if a bomb were found, his team would not be the one to disable it.

"We're not a response team," he said, "We're there to identify it and then the local guys are called in to take care of it."

Morrison, Conto and the Air Force officers were at the University of Arizona Police Department yesterday along with two ANTHRO robots and an example of the suit that would be worn if someone had to disable a bomb manually. Delgado said the ANTHRO robots could access and disable most explosives.

"They keep operatives at a safe distance," he said, "But robots aren't capable in all missions."

In that case, Delgado said someone would be sent in with the suit to disable the bomb.

In this day and age we can't be too cautious. We need to take the necessary steps and be prepared. – Kyle Morrison

The three Air Force officers and Conto also worked at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July.

Conto said he worked 16-hour shifts while at the Democratic convention and expects to work the same hours at the Republican convention. Conto said his dog Bliss did not work as many hours and had chances to rest.

Conto and Morrison got the dogs through an agreement with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which paid for their training and the dogs.

The dogs can detect 19,000 different types of explosives through scent recognition.

"We're part of a federal task force through ATF and respond when needed," Conto said.

Conto said he expects to be sent out between four and six times a year, but gets sent out more in election years.

Morrison, who was not at the Democratic convention, said he expects riots and civil disobedience in New York because there have already been reports of people planning a large-scale protest.

"We're there to find explosives, but if that happens we can respond as needed," he said.

Although the Labrador retrievers would not be able to work in a riot, Conto said Labs are very good with crowds and can work around people.

Morrison said he thought it was especially important to be there because of the possibility of terrorist activity.

"In this day and age we can't be too cautious," he said. "We need to take the necessary steps and be prepared."