Deputy charged in police dog’s hot car death
The Latest on the death of a police dog left in a hot patrol car:
1:10 p.m.
A Utah sheriff’s deputy has been charged with animal cruelty after his police dog died in a hot patrol truck.
Prosecutors said Wednesday the misdemeanor count against Jason Whittier is a reminder that car-interior temperatures can quickly become deadly.
The dog named Endy died of heat exhaustion on July 3. Court documents say Whittier left the dog about noon, after their shift ended. The high temperature was near 94 degrees that day.
Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen said in a statement that Whittier was placed on leave without pay and will be re-assigned.
If convicted, Whittier could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records, and a message left at a phone number listed for him was not immediately returned.
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9 a.m.
Authorities say a Utah police dog is dead after his handler left him in a hot patrol car.
The Cache County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that policies and procedures were not followed in the dog’s heat-exhaustion death on July 3.
Sheriff Chad Jensen says the handler responsible for the dog named Endy has been placed on leave without pay and will be re-assigned following an internal investigation.
Jensen says in a statement that Endy had been actively engaged in protecting the streets in northern Utah’s Cache County, and his unexpected death was and heartbreaking.
He says the department is working to add end-of-shift warning systems to patrol vehicles that carry police dogs. The system would give verbal warnings and then activate lights and sirens until the dog is safely removed.
