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Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect

By Jeralyn, Section Misconduct
Posted on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:10:16 AM EST
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If this had happened to a parent of a small child, I bet felony neglect charges would be filed. A Merced, CA drug cop was searching a house and left his narcotics sniffing dog unattended in his vehicle for hours in 102 degree heat. The dog died from the heat.

Riley's handler, officer Jeff Horn, left her in the back seat of his patrol car outside the department's central station on M Street while he and other officers prepared paperwork to request a search warrant.

Horn reportedly left the car's engine and air conditioner running but found the engine stalled upon returning to the car. The outside temperature in Merced at the time Riley's body was found -- around 4 p.m. -- was 102 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The vehicle's windows were rolled up.

There may or may not be disciplinary charges filed against Horn. I never thought I'd feel sorry for a drug-sniffing dog, but this is so sad. What a slow, painful death it must have been.

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    Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect | 16 comments (16 topical)
    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#1)
    by scribe on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:18:59 AM EST
    It's the dog one should feel sorry for, being stuck with such a pig-headed human for a caretaker. It'd be worth it to screen this cop's records, just to see whether he has ever given a civilian a ticket for mistreating an animal....

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#2)
    by weezie on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:21:32 AM EST
    I didn't know that dogs could volunteer to be drug sniffers. They must be pretty smart dogs if they have the ability to chose their careers. I don't think it's very humane to resent all drug sniffing dogs just because they are doing what we humans train them to do. Poor fella.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#3)
    by scribe on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:26:34 AM EST
    And, FWIW, in New York the government treats K-9 dogs better than they treat most people:
    The dogs of war are in short supply. Confronted with mounting counterterrorism demands after 9/11, the MTA and police departments across the nation can no longer find enough American-born dogs for specialized K-9 units, the Daily News has learned. To fill the void, the agencies are increasingly recruiting pooches from overseas. "A good-quality working dog with the right traits is hard to find," MTA Sgt. John Kerwick, who heads the agency's K-9 unit, told The News. * * * All the dogs that work for the MTA live comfortably. While on the job, the police pooches travel in SUVs rigged for ultimate comfort and protection. If it gets too hot inside Kerwick's vehicle, sensors turn on the air conditioning and fans to cool the dog, sirens wail and flash, and Kerwick is paged so he knows his partner needs help. The cops take their four-legged partners home to kennels almost as big as some Manhattan apartments. The officers are even directed to feed the dogs one of two brands of high-protein food that sell for more than $1 per pound. "Our canines are ready to give their lives without a thought to protect the public," said Kerwick, "so we treat them like heroes every day."
    Sh*t, school lunches gotta cost less than $1 a pound....

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#4)
    by scribe on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:32:35 AM EST
    Sorry, I screwed up the comment; everything between "the dogs of war are in short supply" through "treat em like heroes every day" should be a block quote. Still, the PO in trouble for his dead dog should find himself a federal job, like at the VA. If these dogs are to be treated like heroes every day, his method of treating heroes will fit right in with the Bush VA's for treating returning veterans.... Whom Repugs never hesitate to call heroes (before giving them a bill for their equipment and a kick in the butt on the way out the door).

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#5)
    by Bill Arnett on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:34:22 AM EST
    The officer could very well wind up being prosecuted for animal cruelty, and probably should be, especially with a temp of 102 degrees outside the car; the interior temp would increase rapidly (less than 10 minutes) to over 150-160 degrees. Park a car in 85 degree sunny weather and in less than 15-minutes the temp will exceed 120 degrees. California is deadly serious about stopping cruelty to animals. Let's hope this officer is prosecuted as would be any other citizen for committing a similar offense.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#6)
    by txpublicdefender on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 11:30:29 AM EST
    A similar incident happened in Dallas about a year ago.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 12:23:31 PM EST
    I always feel bad for drug dogs...unwilling conscripts in the war on drugs. I even adopted a drug dog school flunky....boy did that dog love to get high. When the match hit, he'd coming running across the yard for a treat.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 12:48:31 PM EST
    A guy in my office building locked his 4 year old in the car and the boy died after being baked for 4 hours. Guy got 10 years probation. Seeing his face everyday reminds me that he didn't escape punishment. Tragic story.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#9)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 01:17:00 PM EST
    I was just going to write that leaving the dog in the vehicle with the engine running was probably SOP and the cop probably felt horrible about the dog when I read bocajeff's comment. omg.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#10)
    by Lww on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 06:07:49 PM EST
    Gotta love the glee about a "drug dog" dying. My dog Ralph, named for the original "great one" not that Hannity clone warmongering dog Mark Levin, hates when I light up. Ever see a dog give you a dirty look?

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#12)
    by Sailor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 07:29:56 PM EST
    Gotta love the glee about a "drug dog" dying.
    Point out a commenter that expressed glee ... if you can't then STFU. SUO, the point that bothered me in the article was that he'd left the dog there for hours. They didn't quantify it, and they also didn't explain how the engine died. The details of those points are the difference between 'a cop losing his canine partner in an awful accident' and a crime at least of negligence. (BTW, that's the spectrum of possibilities, not either/or.) I've debated with Patrick enough, and seen his side, that I'll wait for more info. (Tho I'll still doubt whether we'll ever learn the actual facts;-)

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#13)
    by Lww on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 07:40:23 PM EST
    Sailor,you're right. But somebody up there seemed to think that drug dogs shouldn't live comfortably, riding in SUV's, dollar a pound dogfood etc... Maybe it was a stretch.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#14)
    by Che's Lounge on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 07:48:34 PM EST
    I had a white shepherd. Beautiful snow white and smart as a whip. Had to put him down a few years ago. I live in a pet friendly area, but I'm still not ready. The only thing that we can hope is that (unfortunately) it was a terrible mistake on the part of the handler.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#15)
    by Sailor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 07:57:06 PM EST
    LWW, correction noted. It was a stretch. And while I don't think dogs should ride around in SUV's (but I'm consistent, I don't think humans should either), I do think they should live 'comfortably.' But my last dog's version of that was eating cat feces, rolling in carrion and sniffing a$$holes ... and she was the best mutt I ever knew. (She was so good I'm never gonna have another dog. Unless maybe when I'm terminal and know the dog will die before I will.)

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 09:29:17 PM EST
    No matter how it happened, the handler is destroyed. He's not thinking about himself tonight, he's thinking of the dog. Give him a break, give him some love, he needs it too.

    Re: Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Sep 27, 2006 at 07:43:12 AM EST
    I know Jeff, he's a good dude. This was a tragedy. I'm sure he feels very bad about this. Jeff keep your chin up man.

    Cop's Drug Dog Dies From Neglect | 16 comments (16 topical)