Stockton Police Reviewing Protocol After K-9 Dies In Hot Patrol Car
STOCKTON (CBS13) — The Stockton Police Department says an officer followed procedure and the death of a K-9 in high heat was the result of an air conditioner failing on Tuesday.
The K-9 Nitro had extra water in his car and also had a fan in the patrol car. When his handler left him in the patrol car, the air conditioner was working, but stopped at some point before the handler returned. Temperatures on Tuesday were well above 100 degrees.
The police department is devastated but determined to make sure what happened to the 3-year-old Dutch shepherd doesn't happen again. The department held a special training day to mourn and go over what happened before Nitro died.
It wasn't just the air conditioner that failed. Remote heat sensors, like ones used by Sacramento County Sheriff's K-9 handlers also failed. The device warns officers if the car is getting too hot for their canine partners. It also allows the door to be opened remotely to give the dog fresh air.
A Stockton Police internal review is now underway to see, and the department may consider rushing a new order of patrol vehicles. The department is in the middle of switching out older Crown Victorias with new Ford Explorers.
Many patrol officers already have them, but the K-9 vehicles like the one Nitro was in are still the older Crown Victorias.
While the older vehicles are checked every year, it wasn't enough to save a valued member of the department from the searing heat.
