Sheriff’s pressure for expanded school K-9 searches yields scant results

Cpl. Erik DeAngelis of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office shows off Albi, a female 2-year-old German short-haired pointer, who is a gun and ammunition detection K9, as Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, right, talks during a demonstration and press conference at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 9, 2022. Albi was donated to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office by Judy Dunlap. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

When Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods publicly accused school district leaders in September of blocking his office from using gun-detection dogs in elementary schools, the claim set off a political firestorm and prompted district officials to revisit their search policies.

Less than two months later, Woods got the policy he sought.

Interim Schools Superintendent Danielle Brewer implemented a new administrative search policy authorizing random firearm- and drug-detection dog searches in elementary schools serving grades 3–5, expanding a program that had previously applied only to middle and high schools.

But administrative search logs obtained by the “Gazette” show that even before the expansion — and after it — the sheriff’s office has conducted relatively few K-9 searches, with little to show for them.

A policy expansion without a public workshop

The new policy took effect without the public work session that school board leaders said would occur.

On Sept. 18, days after Woods’ emotional video, School Board Chair Lori Conrad said the district would convene a public workshop so all stakeholders could discuss whether elementary searches were appropriate. Brewer told board members she would reconvene the district’s safety group to evaluate the issue.

That workshop was never scheduled.

Instead, Brewer exercised her authority as superintendent and implemented Administrative Search Procedures ap5771.01, which explicitly allow random administrative searches at elementary schools for grades 3–5 and authorize the use of firearm- and drug-detection dogs.

Parents were notified after the policy was in place, via a Nov. 5 Skylert message announcing that elementary searches would begin “in the very near future.”

What the records show

Administrative logs covering last school year and the current year to date paint a markedly different picture than the urgency conveyed in Woods’ September video.

According to the policy, the random administrative searches can be performed up to three times a week but, according to the administrative logs the district is required to keep of the searches, the sheriff is exercising them sparingly.

The administrative search logs indicate:

• Roughly 18 administrative searches were conducted using the sheriff’s K-9’s during the 2024–25 school year and only 14 during the current 2025-26 school year, all of which were at middle and high schools.
• All of the searches resulted in negative findings for firearms.
• In the few instances where items were recovered, records show minor contraband, mostly vapes.
• No pattern of frequent or escalating weapons discoveries is reflected in the logs.

The majority of searches logged as “K-9 search yield negative results for firearms” produced no confiscations at all.

Woods publicly shared during a press conference three years ago the donation of Albi, a female 2-year-old German short-haired pointer, who is used by her handler Cpl. Erik DeAngelis to detect gun and ammunition. The dog would be used at schools to “deter potential gun violence.”

Lt. Paul Bloom, the sheriff’s spokesperson, wrote the “Gazette” by email recently that Albi is trained only for alerting “to the presence of firearms, ammunition, black powder and gun oils. They are not trained for narcotics detection.”

Bloom also said the type of dog was “extremely friendly and all the kids seem to really love them.”

The “Gazette” has made a records request for the K-9’s training records and will supplement this report if they provide any further context about the K-9’s capacity.

A contrast with public messaging

Woods’ Sept. 13 video suggested the district’s refusal to allow gun-detection dogs in elementary schools posed a serious and immediate safety risk. He claimed frustration with what he described as resistance from school leaders following an incident in which a student brought a loaded gun onto a school bus.

But Woods had never formally requested elementary school searches, a fact Woods acknowledged to Brewer during a phone call. Conrad later described the sheriff’s public comments as “surprising and unexpected,” noting that the sheriff’s legal team had helped draft the original 2022 search policies.

The district has not historically reported a particularly high number of incidents involving guns compared to other districts in the state.

During the September board discussion, members emphasized the need to weigh safety measures against student well-being, particularly for younger children.

Board member Sarah James cited district data showing just 43 weapons-related cases across all elementary schools over a 10-year span, many involving items like pocketknives with no intent to harm. Conrad recalled the emotional toll of conducting active-shooter drills with first-graders.