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Brazoria County officer dies at 47
Published November 25, 2009
HOUSTON — K-9 Officer Rick Opperud began his 20-year police career in Danbury and became nationally known as a police dog trainer, Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner said.
Opperud, 47, died Tuesday morning of complications from an aneurysm that burst while he was training drug dogs in Louisiana on Nov. 4. A cerebral aneurysm is a bulging, weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Opperud was flown to Methodist Hospital in Houston, where he underwent surgery to repair the problem.
He suffered several strokes and never recovered, Wagner said. He was in a Hospice care center for about two weeks.
“It’s a tremendous loss for the department,” Wagner said. “We’ve had calls and messages from all over the state and the nation. He was well known in the law enforcement community, especially among other K-9 officers. Rick was a great asset to the department in all he did.”
Sheriff’s Patrol Capt. Richard Foreman worked with Opperud for 18 years. A good K-9 officer helps keep human officers safe, and Opperud did a good job with dogs, Foreman said.
“Rick enjoyed his work and really enjoyed working with his dogs,” Foreman said. “He was a good guy.”
Richard “Rick” Fred Opperud II attended Danbury High School. He went to work for the Danbury Police Department in January, 1989 and joined the Freeport Police Department in November, 1989. He worked as a patrolman in Freeport until joining the sheriff’s office as a jailer in 1992.
He was moved to the patrol division later that year, and in 1996 was moved to the narcotics division. Opperud became a K-9 handler in 1998 with his first dog, Kubo. In 2000, Kubo was recognized as a police K-9 “Top Dog.”
Together, they were certified in narcotics, patrol, tracking, land and water cadaver recovery and explosive detection. Opperud was promoted to narcotics investigator in 2002. He later was partnered with Joe, until that K-9’s retirement in 2009, when he began working with Erko.
Opperud has two children, a son, Josh; and daughter, Amy.
Opperud was a member of the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association, North American Police Work Dog Association, Texas Narcotics Officers Association, Brazoria County Peace Officers Association, Brazoria County Sheriff Deputies Association and a number of other law enforcement organizations.
Funeral services likely will be Monday, Wagner said.
John Lowman covers Brazoria County for The Facts. Contact him at 979-849-8581.
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