I turned on the TV this morning and at 6:06AM the temp was already 81 degrees. The comfort index is currently at 111, actual high temperature was 99 and there is an Ozone warning in place. Yesterday, it got so hot that a Leer Jet's landing gear sunk into the hot runway asphalt in Colby. In this heat wave, a cop left his police dog, Hondo, in a car for an hour and when he returned the dog was unconscious and died. There was a window mounted cooling fan in place but it didn't work. There is also an alarm that is supposed to sound if the in car temperature gets to 94 degrees.

Now some people have become outraged at this and made calls to the police department. Interviewed on the news, one of the cops says these people calling in to complain are just ignorant. In a demonstration of the system today, the in car temp reached 94 degrees in just 3-1/2 minutes.

I say dismissal and prosecution. What do you think?

I think he should face the same penalties as someone who is not a Police Officer would face. The Law should be applied consistantly and blindly (as to race, sex, wealth, profession, etc...)

Phil

I don't see how this is the officers fault. He couldn't control that the window fan didn't work. Maybe it worked when he left the vehicle and broke while he was gone. Also he couldn't control that the alarm didn't go off.

I guarantee you that police officer is mourning the loss of his dog. In every case I've ever heard of the dogs are not only for department use...but they are kept at the officers houses with their family. This dog was loved.

What was the officer supposed to do with the dog otherwise as well? He couldn't leave the windows open because the dog could then jump out. He couldn't leave the car running because that would be a security hazard....leaving a police cruiser running and unnatended that is. There's not much else he could have done that I see.

I say let him mourn and let him be.

Of course if he was NOT negligent (spelling?). I agree with you!!
Knifeboy: Lets not have another "airbag or no airbag" fight HAHAHA!!!
However, if he was negligent (still dont know how to spell it) than he should face up to the consequences.

Phil

Ok, no airbag fights...I promise. Keep your bag hooked up....... [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]J/K.

Taz....do you have any links to a news article on this story? I'm curious for more information.

Not knowing thw whole story I dont want to comment too much but I think some sort of action should be taken against the officer. Besides what is an officer with a police dog doing leaving his car unattended for an hour while on duty??? I know several officers including the county police dog trainer and the dogs are never left in a vehicle for that long even when its not hot out.

Having grown up in the Desert Southwest there is not any excuse for this kind of thing to happen to any animal. You don't leave animals unattended in the heat like that for any reason. Having said that there may be some reasons for this set of circumstances to have occurred, I won't be so bold as to say good reasons but reasons just the same.

Not being a Law Enforcement Officer and not being there its real easy to armchair this officer's reasons for leaving his partner in the car during the heat of the day. On the other hand being a Military type of guy there are a few things you do know. One is that the government (local, state, or Federal) will buy from the lowest bidder. Two, all things man made will fail sooner or later. Three, you must check your equipment all the time to ensure that it functions as it should.

The questions I would have to ask are;

Does this department have a set of equipment checks that are required before each duty day starts?
If so did this officer receive the training needed to perform these checks?
If not why doesn't this department have them?
Where did this officer receive his dog handler training and do they have in their course lesson plans that cover extreme weather and dog care?
If the training the officer received didn't include extreme weather operations why is the department using them?
When was the last time the car serviced?
During the last service did the fan/alarm controls for the dog get checked?
What was the officer doing that required him to leave his partner in the unit unattended and could have he had the dog with him?

The questions above are only a few that come to mind, I'm sure that many more could be dreamed up and asked. So back to my armchair, this is a case were for the time being I'm going to have to feel bad for both officers, the dog and his partner. If it does come back that the officer is at fault that by all means he should be dismissed, prosecuted, and required to pay the cost of training a new dog and handler.

What's worse is that this happens every year, not only to animals but children as well. I remember seeing it all the time growing up in Vegas as well. When ever my parents and later myself, as I became old enough to be on my own, saw this we would call the police to report it.

If you run into this report it and if you need to take the actions needed to save a life

For more info, I did a Google search w/ police dog kansas. Here is URL to my results... http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ed...G=Search+News.

Two news reports basically say (and don't say) the same thing... Neither explains what the human officer was doing during that hour, only that he was at a canine center. Which, IMHO, begs the question "Why didn't the human take Hondo, the dog, into the center w/ him?"

That nothing is being said as to the human officer's activities during that hour tends to raise more questions...

Story also relates that the human collided w/ another car while rushing his canine partner to the emergency vet, w/ both other driver and officer sustaining injuries. By the grace of God, no one (human) was seriously hurt or killed. Police dog or not, is a dog's life worth the risk of a vehicle accident inherent in rolling a high-speed 'Code Three' (lights & siren)? Sorry, I don't think so. I love my dog Stryker almost as much as my sons, but his life is not worth a human life. (Though I might trade it for my mother-in-law's... hmmm. [img]images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img])

The news reports do not report sufficient info to make a well-considered opinion. I DO want to know what that human was doing for 60 minutes (was time minimized?) while his partner was dying outside.

Around these parts, civilians get arrested for animal neglect and cruelty for like occurances. I agree w/ above comments that LE should be held to at least that minimum standard. And, gross or simple negligence (IMHO there was at least some), the officer ought to have the cost of the K-9 officer and his training docked from his pay... and restricted from having another K-9 partner for a reasonable period of time... 5 years?

I'm former law enforcement and most all my best friends are cops... but this incident demands some close scrutiny/investigation. My gut tells me the human was goofing off during this supposed hour.

One more thing, don't give me any nonsense about depending/relying on some manmade, mechanical contraption that's supposed to 'look out' for your partner's welfare. Partners look out personally for their respective partner!!! No ifs, ands or buts about it!


Let's see what happens and what further info is forthcoming...

In fact just recently...as in the past few days...a young infant died in a vehicle due to the heat. I forget where it happaned but here's what I remember....

A family lent their SUV to another family member and left their kids with the family member as well. For some reason the parent of the kids in the car didn't mention to the other family member that the kids were in the car. Over a period of time a 5 year old got out of the SUV and went into the house of their relative. The relative realized the infant was still in the vehicle because the sibling said they were sleeping. Well the infant died and no charges were filed against anyone. Its unfortunate but it happens every year.

1. No man is above the law.
2. Put him in a patrol car for an hour...
3. The we could see if he thinks,
4. The citizens outrage is ignorant...
5. The gall of some people...