On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council rejected a donation to cover two police K9s sourced from a Jurupa Valley breeder that shares the same name as Adolf Hitler’s World War II bunker complex.
“I don't have a problem with donating dogs to the police,” Councilman Bob Blumenfield said at Tuesday's meeting. “That's not an issue. But what I'm concerned about is that this company called the Adlerhorst International, is the name of the Nazi bunker used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.''
Adlerhorst, which means “Eagle's Nest'' in German, was a World War II bunker complex built to hide Hilter in the Bavarian Alps. The location also served as Hitler's command post.
The council member said he searched online to see if the company’s name might possibly have another meaning, but couldn’t find anything.
“To me, it feels like it's a glorification of the Nazis and Hitler,” Blumenfield added. “I don't know that's the intent of this company, but in reality, it's a creepy name that shouldn't really be associated with a company like this. They've had plenty of time to deal with it and I can't support doing business with a company that's glorifying Hitler's bunker.”
According to invoices obtained by L.A. TACO through a public records request, LAPD’s Metropolitan Division K9 unit has done more than $150,000 in business with Adlerhorst International in the last five years.
Each canine ranges in price from $9,800 for a “single purpose detection dog” to nearly $13,000 for a “dual purpose police service dog” of European descent, before tax. The specially trained dogs come with names such as Diesel, Rico, and Benny.
A spokesperson for Councilmember Blumenfield did not respond to L.A. TACO's request for comment sent via email.
After this story published, a spokesperson for Blumenfield told L.A. TACO, "The first the Councilmember or our team had heard of this company was this week. It's uncommon for council offices to know specifics on department procurement but this item was different as it involved a donation that had to go through council."
According to a memo from the commanding officer of the LAPD’s Metropolitan Division, “the current [LAPD] budget does not allocate any funding towards the purchase of police service dogs.”
The Los Angeles Police Foundation, a non-profit independent from the LAPD, offered to cover the cost of two canines from Adlerhorst International, valued at over $26,000. According to the department, the two dogs would replace another pair who retired out of the program.
On Tuesday, the City Council rejected that proposal and sent the matter back to the Public Safety Committee.
“This company is a company that is glorifying Hitler's bunker, and it's a company that is dealing with German Shepherds, of which there's all that history with the Holocaust,'' Blumenfield said on Tuesday.
Vice News previously reported that David Reaver, the founder of Adlerhorst International LLC., had been sued multiple times for alleged injuries caused by the dogs from his company. Reaver has denied allegations of racism in the past, saying the company's name comes from a German kennel where he bought a dog in the 1960s. He launched his company in 1976.
City News Service contributed to this report.
