Plans by a Lakes of the Four Seasons woman to honor the memory of her late son haven’t gone as she had hoped.

When Marie Buckingham donated a K-9 trained black Labrador retriever named Rak to the Winfield Police Department three and a half years ago, she hoped he would remain there for some 10 years or until his retirement.

Earlier this year, after Buckingham learned Rak was no longer at the Winfield Police Department, she came to the Jan. 28 Town Council meeting seeking answers and threatening possible legal action.

Rak was not with the department but apparently was taken by his handler, Sgt. Stephen Garpow, who had resigned his position last year, according to town officials.

“I donated Rak out of the kindness of my heart. I did this to try and clean up the community and to keep drugs and alcohol off of the street,” Buckingham said.

The Winfield Town Council recently approved an indemnity agreement, which will ultimately be signed by the person who ends up adopting Rak, if and when town officials get to that point, Town Council President Zack Beaver, R-at large said.

“It’s a standard agreement basically saying anyone who has him after the town is accepting responsibility for him after he’s fostered or adopted,” Beaver said.

Beaver said Rak had been kept until recently at the Hobart Humane Society but left the facility after receiving an injury to his tail.

The dog is now being taken care of by a foster care family with future plans to have him adopted.

Beaver declined to provide the name of the foster care family.

“He’s healthy,” Beaver said of Rak but noted the dog would likely not be returned to police duty.

Buckingham said K-9 dogs, like Rak, need a special diet and have to pass certification.

“He’s not been trained since he was taken off the street in September. They’ve destroyed him,” she said.

Beaver said it was conveyed to him that Buckingham didn’t want Rak back but instead was seeking reimbursement for Rak, the $16,000 she raised for his purchase and K-9 training.

Buckingham said she does want Rak returned to her since he is very similar to the black Labrador her late son had as his pet.

“Of course I would take him in,” she said.

She said she is asking for some reimbursement since she is the one who sponsored the fundraisers including the selling of T-shirts and even the holding of a Rak motorcycle run.

“I paid $16,000 and he was only with the department for 13-14 months, so I deserve part of it,” she said.

Buckingham said she had promised her son, Ryan Adam Kelly, “you will never be forgotten” on his deathbed and just before he was taken off life support.

She said she took up the cause against drugs after her son was hit from behind by an impaired truck driver on Nov. 19, 2010, while driving to work.

Her son died six days later, on Thanksgiving Day, after spending nearly a week in a coma. Buckingham said she founded VOID Inc. Victims of Impaired Driving, the Ryan Adam Kelly Foundation early on after her son’s death.

Since the Jan. 28 Winfield Town Council, when Buckingham inquired about the dog’s whereabouts and threatened possible legal action, communications have been between Brett Galvan, Buckingham’s attorney, and town officials, including the town’s attorney.

“Discussions are ongoing; he (Rak) is being safely fostered locally until a permanent resolution is achieved,” Beaver said.

Galvan disagrees with that assessment.

“Negotiations are at a halt, but not for a lack of trying on our part,” Galvan said.

Buckingham, on her part, just wants to know the whereabouts of Rak and to go forward with other charitable efforts.

“I did it to keep Winfield safe and in memory of my son and this is the way I’ve gotten treated. I still don’t know where he (Rak) is,” Buckingham said.

In a statement, from Galvan, he reiterated what Buckingham said: “My client established this charitable effort in memory of her late son. She raised

funds, acquired a dog, had it specially trained and dedicated it to the local police department to benefit the community. Throughout this process, she retained a significant ownership stake in the dog.”

“Her sole desire is to resolve this situation so she can continue her charitable work and find other ways to benefit the community in her son’s name. It has been a difficult struggle for her to get cooperation from those she intended to help. We simply want a resolution that allows her to move forward with her charitable mission,” Galvan’s statement said.

Beaver said town officials, knowing Garpow had left with Rak, were actively trying to get the dog back.

Garpow, who had been on paid administrative leave pending a disciplinary hearing, resigned at the end of December, town officials said.

Garpow’s name was brought up last fall during the murder trial of Raju Rawal, 67, of Merrillville, who was later found guilty of the death on Feb. 23, 2023, of Haley Losinski, 36, of Winfield.

Garpow, as one of the first responding officers and an initial crime scene supervisor for the Winfield Police Department, was expected not to testify, according to a story published on Oct. 28 in the Post-Tribune.

That was because Garpow was on leave and expected to be fired, lawyer Jeff Williams told Judge Natalie Bokota at that same hearing.

Defense lawyer Kevin Milner said in court that Garpow was facing “various allegations” including theft, according to Post-Tribune archives.

Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.