If a private citizen harms a police K9, he will be charged with several felonies, including injuring a police animal, aggravated battery, and others. For all practical purposes, attacking a police dog is the same under the law as attacking a police officer.
If a person locks their own dog in a hot car, they can be charged with various charges like “animal cruelty.”
In 2012, there were 18 police K9s that were killed. 8 of them died of heat illness when their handler left them locked in a hot patrol cruiser. In fact, more police K9s died last year because of neglect or errors that their handlers made than died from any other reason.
In the past month, three police K9s died from being left in a hot patrol car in three different states: Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Ohio. Stop the double standard. These officers need to be charged with a crime.