Death of a K-9 officer left inside hot vehicle

It's a tragedy.  It's happened in my city too.  I don't feel it's a crime and I do believe that the officer involved shouldn't be prosecuted.  As the PD and the DA said, it was not done with intent or recklessness.  It was a tragic accident.  As sad as it is for anyone who loves dogs to hear about cases like this, the K9 officer responsible is hurting more than anyone.  RIP, Chevy.

It should be a crime.  How tragic.  Sounds pretty reckless to leave a dog in a car on 100 degree temperatures.  What the hell was he thinking?  A canine officer should know better.

Run free Chevy.

I guess it is a matter of opinion but like parents who accidentally leave their young children in hot cars, I don't think most of these type cases are worth prosecuting and these parents, and I believe this officer, will punish themselves the rest of their lives for their mistake.  There was no intent to harm the dog.  The officer was unloading his vehicle and he flat out messed up and forgot his dog.  Terrible and heartbreaking but unless someone can prove he intended to kill his dog, he's not guilty of anything but gross stupidity.   Dogs die every day because of an owner's  belief that "that will never happen to my dog" and we forgive them because they truly meant no harm.  Why is it different for this officer?  Twister jumped out my truck window at 50mph because I never dreamed he would.  I take full responsibility for being so naive and I was lucky that he wasn't hurt.  If he had been killed, would you want me prosecuted?

This may be an unpopular opinion but I honestly believe that this type of thing is *more* likely to happen to a K9 handler than, say, someone with a pet dog.  Why?  Because they are in the vehicles *all* the time, in and out, all shift (or just in).  We train our dogs at a police department and when the K9 handler comes by his dog is always in the vehicle (but he leaves it running for heat or AC).  Someone who rarely if ever has a dog alone with them in a vehicle is probably not ever going to forget to get the dog in or out.  I'm not defending the human officer (not really enough details for me to feel one way or the other about this particular case) but I have dogs in my vehicle a *lot* though not as much as a K9 officer and I've had some close calls.  I've never forgotten my dogs inside in dangerous heat but I have almost left without a dog and I've locked myself out with my dog in the vehicle in dangerous heat two times (first time someone jimmied the lock in minutes, second time we called a tower who comes out FAST and had the dogs out within 15 minutes but were prepared to bust a window).  Since my AC doesn't always work anymore, it is now unlikely anything like this would happen to my dogs because *I* have to have the windows open to breathe so even if I did forget them they'd be OK. 

Rather than crucify this particular officer I'd rather see people push for more safety precautions like AC units and systems that automatically kick in when the vehicle reaches a certain temp, alarm systems for temp, etc.  If you believe this is a worthy cause then try to get your PDs to implement these systems so that future dogs are protected from dangerous mistakes.  Pressuring the DA in this case doesn't turn back time or do any good for the future.

I believe it is a crime if a human child is left in a car and dies of heat stroke.  I could be wrong; but wouldn't that be criminally negligent manslaughter?  Not intent...but out of gross negligence.

I think your example of Twister jumping out of the truck is different.  He chose to jump (silly dog).  This canine officer was trapped due to negligence on the part of the human, his caregiver.

I completely agree with you that the human officer will live out his days in grief with his own stupid actions/negligence.  Not trying to argue with you, Jackie...but seriously, this dog had no chance or choice.

Do I believe he should be prosecuted?  Probably, yes.  Having said all this...I am no student of law...so I don't really know.  Its just my heart reacting.

Even if he gets charged with something, I still don't see what that resolves or changes.  It just puts a label on him when everyone already knows he made a fatal mistake.  It doesn't me he serves any time.  I had a teacher that was charged with some sort of negligent homicide because he was driving when he and his wife got in an accident, hit black ice, and she died.  His "punishment" was having his license revoked for a certain period of time, but he had to have his legs basically reconstructed and couldn't drive (or do much of anything) anyway.

Prosecution in a case like this would be pointless.  It was an accident so there's no bearing for pursuing a charge and sentence that is punitive.  So to prosecute him just because is a waste of time and money.  It just reeks of anger and revenge.  The prison system in this country is based on rehabilitation, so if this was a mistake and this person is already sorry and grieving, what purpose does it serve to waste time and money trying to put the handler in prison so he can be rehab'd for a "crime" that was a total mistake and I'm sure he's already sorry for?

As far as negligence I think either the owner is responsible or is not.  I do not see how it is possible to determine the culpability of the dog (comparing Jackie's example where Twister "chose" to jump).  If an owner is not responsible for a dog's choice then where does that end?  Can my dog leave my house and my yard and chase someone else's dog and I am no longer responsible because my dog is now culpable for that choice?  If we say that Twister has the foresight to understand the risks and choose to jump out of a moving vehicle, we could also say that Chevy had the foresight to understand the risks of being a K9 and could have chosen not to do it.  Dogs wash out every day.

Liesje, you said what I feel and believe so much better than I did.  I understand what your heart is feeling Barb and it's one of the reasons I call you my friend.

I think the issue as far as charging the human officer is intent.  It doesn't seem there was any intent, it was a big big big mistake, thus making such a case a huge waste of money. 

I'd rather see that money and energy spent on preventing these accidents in the future.  It has bothered me that these K9s are at risk on and off duty in warm climates and there have been several cases like this recently.  As if the job doesn't come with enough risks, just being in the vehicle seems like the biggest danger.  I remember one where I believe the K9 died b/c the AC went out and the dog was left in the vehicle because he was not allowed into the police building. That got under my skin, the dog is an officer with the same rights and protection as the human officer but is not allowed in the building? 

I'm not sure about police K9s but in the military, the dog always outranks the human handler.  This further protects the dog from mistreatment by the handler.  I think cases of handlers intentionally mistreating their partners are exceptionally rare.

Jewlieee

that the ac stopped running while the officer was inside somewhere. I always think of that and it scares me because i often leave the car running and ac on if i stop someplace with the dogs i the car.

I used to do this until a case that happened here a few years ago.  A friend of mine worked for a company that contracted with local schools to do drug searches with dogs.  The owner of the drug dog company stopped at a convenience store and left his drug dog in the running car with the a/c on.  Someone stole his vehicle with the dog inside.  They found the vehicle about a week later abandoned with the dog dead inside.  That hit home with me and I just don't do it anymore.  Sorry for going off topic but it's something to think about.

That is the one benefit of always having cars that didn't have AC at all or having unreliable AC, I do not rely on it because I'm not used to having it or having it work consistently.  If it's too hot without it, then the dogs come out or the van is opened up.  I bring dogs to work a lot but not if the temp in the sun is over 60.  Even in the dead of winter here I have windows cracked and water pails in the kennels.

Looks like fans and heat monitoring systems are readily available through EliteK9: http://www.elitek9.com/Criminalistics-Products/products/130/