Police Dog Handler to be prosecuted (same topic threads merged)

Just seen this
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/n...re/8160753.stm

This is breaking news

"A Nottinghamshire police dog handler has been prosecuted after two dogs died when they were left in a car during a heatwave.

The German Shepherds were left in the handler's car at Nottinghamshire Police's headquarters on June 30.

Temperatures reached nearly 30 degrees Celsuis that day in Arnold on the outskirts of Nottingham.

The officer in question has been suspended and an internal inquiry is being conducted.

The RSPCA said: "legal proceeding will be brought against the Nottinghamshire police officer for causing unnecessary suffering to the two animals."

More to follow. "

I find the whole story (for the dogs AND the handler) very sad indeed.

From the Daily Mail ...

Police dog handler charged over deaths of German Shepherds left in 47c car on hottest day of the yearBy Dan Newling
Last updated at 1:32 PM on 21st July 2009
Add to My Stories The police officer who left his two trained police dogs in his car on one of the hottest days of the year will be prosecuted for killing them, the RSPCA announced today.
The Nottinghamshire Police dog handler will be charged with 'causing unnecessary suffering to animals' - a crime that carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a £20,000 fine.
The charge was announced today by the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA), which prosecutes all but the most serious crimes perpetrated on animals.

Tribute: Police dog handlers lay flowers for the dead animals earlier this month. The RSPCA today confirmed a dog handler will be prosecuted for their deaths
The unnamed police officer left his two German Shepherd dogs in his car on the afternoon of June 30 this year, when the outside temperature reached 28C (83f).
The dogs, one of which was over ten years old, were trapped in the parked car outside Nottinghamshire Police headquarters on the outskirts of Nottingham.
Although the dogs are not thought to have been locked in the car for a long time, the outside air temperature was so great that the temperature inside the vehicle rose extremely rapidly.
Animal welfare experts said that it would have taken just 20 minutes for the air temperature inside the officer's privately-owned car to reach as high as 47c (116f).

Friends of the police officer concerned said he is 'devastated' by his mistake. He is said to be so upset that he has been off work ever since the incident on compassionate leave. The force today suspended him.
One friend told the Daily Mail: 'The two dogs were his, and his family's life. The older one was about to retire and he was training up the younger one to take its place.
'He can't believe what has happened. He left the dogs out in the car while he popped into the office for a few minutes. Unfortunately, he got waylaid and when he came back to the car, they were dead.
'He's an extremely experienced dog handler - one of the unit's top blokes. He's devastated because he knows that this will be the end of his time as an police animal handler.'
Police dog handler Tony Crowshaw with Guido, pays tribute to the animals
The dead dogs were two of 24 animals kept by the Nottinghamshire force for tracking criminal suspects and for crowd control. Each dog is assigned to an officer and lives with at the owner's home so that it becomes intensely loyal.
The dogs - mostly German Shepherds - are either given to the force by members of the public, bred within the force's own breeding program or bought from professional dog breeders. It takes £7,000 and nine weeks of training before one can go out on patrol.
As soon as the deaths were discovered, the Nottinghamshire force informed the RSPCA and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which investigates all police killings. However the IPCC did not investigate as the victims were not human.
The officer involved will be served with a court summons over the next few days. He will then appear at magistrates' court to answer the Animal Welfare Act charge against him. The crime is so serious that the case could then move to crown court.
The RSPCA has conducted a postmortem on the dogs' bodies and evidence from it is likely to form part of the prosecution.
Every summer animal welfare charities conduct public information campaigns to warn pet owners about the dangers of leaving animals in hot cars. So when news of the deaths emerged last month, many dog lovers were furious that an experienced and professional handler could be so lacking in common sense.
There were fears that the RSPCA would fail to prosecute - a decision that would have risked causing huge public outcry and accusations of a 'whitewash'.

In a statement yesterday the RSCPA said: 'The RSPCA can confirm that following the deaths of two police dogs in Nottinghamshire on 30 June, legal proceedings will be brought against a Nottinghamshire police officer for causing unnecessary suffering to the two animals.'
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: 'Following a review of the circumstances into the deaths of two police dogs, Nottinghamshire Police has taken the decision to suspend the police officer involved. An internal inquiry is also continuing.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0LtkMvzOn

I'm sure the guy is devastated about what he's done, but I'm glad it would appear that he is being treated as any other 'normal pet owner' would.

I agree.
Sad for all concerned

Yes, a very sad incident.

it is sad but i can't get my head around the fact he knew his dogs were in the car and yet allowed himself to be 'waylaid'. we have all been in situations where we have had to say 'sorry, i just must attend to this'. be it a pot boiling over or a child about to put his hand on a hot stove. you don't just ignore it.

i feel sad for the man involved as he will have to live with this for the rest of his life, but i hope he recieves a hefty punishment for his irresponsibility.

Very very sad all round Must admit I do feel for the handler but I think it's good it's being dealt with properly.

When I think of things that have nearly happened to me over the years I can't bring myself to totally condemn the handler

I am sorry to me this is no excuse , anyone with an ounce of thought for their dogs would have made sure the dogs were not left in the car.

Apparently the incident happened at the police headquarters and there were kennels nearby, it would only have taken a moment to put the dogs in a kennel .

People like the police should be setting a good example to the rest of the dog owning population. Those poor dogs will have died a horrible death, I hope this thoughtless person is banned from keeping dogs ever again.

Good point. It is easy to condemn but I'm sure we've all done silly things in the past (not necessarily dog related) which could've turned out very badly.