A dog and his handler have earned national recognition after catching a speeding driver who tried to escape from police in Rainham.
PC Martin Swain and PD Kaiser, a five-year-old German Shepherd with Essex Police, received the National Police Chiefs’ Council Police Dogs General Patrol Dog Award, which celebrates the top canine crimefighters in the country.
The pair have worked together since Kaiser was just eight weeks old, with PC Swain raising and training him to become an operational police dog.
During a chase on the A13 in January 2025, Kaiser followed suspect Michael Burke into a deep-water ditch at personal risk and even went underwater during the stop.
Burke, 24, had been driving at speeds of more than 100mph into London along the A13 from Essex, sometimes on the wrong carriageway.
PC Swain was waiting for him further down the road at Rainham and a pursuit was authorised.
Burke abandoned his car and ran off but Kaiser immediately got on his trail and located him cowering in swampy grassland by the roadside.
Burke was jailed for 14 months, banned from driving for five years and four months and ordered to take an extended retest after pleading guilty to driving dangerously, driving while disqualified and using a vehicle without insurance.
Read more
Works continue at Gallows Corner whilst wait for reopening date goes on
Post Office branch near Romford shuts for more than two weeks for refurb
PC Swain said of Kaiser: "He’s very determined and very demanding, he loves work and he loves to play. He’s a joy to work with, but he’s also a challenge.
"He’s everything you could want in a police dog. He’s not a mundane, robotic dog – he’s the complete opposite of that."
Kaiser also continued to detain an offender he chased into a field despite being repeatedly assaulted, according to Essex Police, as well as carrying out long and complex tracks to locate burglary suspects.
PC Swain added: "We were lucky enough to be nominated for the work we’ve done over the past year, but a lot of that is down to Kaiser. He’s an exceptional dog – I just hold on to the end of the lead.
"We work really well together and he’s done some unbelievable work.
"I’m incredibly proud of Kaiser and we’ve never won anything like this before, but it’s really for the whole dog section, the people who helped train him and all the officers who do the work that leads to these deployments.
"It’s a real team effort. He’s a great dog and it’s the highlight of my career, for sure."
Kaiser lives at home with PC Swain and continues to serve as a general purpose police dog.
Share