Police dogs dies - handler suspended
Columbia, SC (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006
County: Richland
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: John P Baker
A police dog was found dead inside a patrol car and his handler, a Richland County sheriff's deputy, has been suspended pending an investigation into animal cruelty. Atilla, a 17-month-old German shepherd, died Tuesday, Richland County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chris Cowan said. Atilla's handler, Deputy John Paul Baker, was suspended without pay until the Humane Society finishes its criminal investigation, Cowan said. "It's very disappointing," he said.
Cowan said Baker was observing other K-9 handlers during drug detection training at the state surplus building off Boston Avenue on Tuesday. Atilla was in Baker's patrol car, a normal procedure while the handler is observing other handlers, Cowan said. When Baker returned to the car, "the dog was unresponsive," Cowan said. Patrol cars used by Baker and other K-9 officers are equipped with safety devices to prevent this type of occurrence. Each K-9 patrol car has remote control door openers to allow the dog to exit if the handler needs assistance. The car also has a temperature monitor that will activate the siren and roll down the back windows if the car's inside temperature gets above 85 degrees, according to the Sheriff's Department's Web site. The devices were not activated in Baker's car, Cowan said.
Atilla had been with the department's K-9 unit for a few weeks and was placed with Baker, a veteran K-9 officer who has worked for the department since 2002. It is unknown how much Atilla cost but according to the Rhode Island Vest-A-Dog Web site, a dog accepted for K-9 training can cost between $3,000 and $10,000. Earlier, Baker had been paired with Rose, a black Labrador retriever that died of bone cancer earlier this year, Cowan said.
The department's K-9 Division has 11 dogs - four Belgium malinois, four German shepherds, a Dutch shepherd and two bloodhounds, the Web site said. The Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies use the dogs for tracking, drug and bomb detection and building searches. "I am very disturbed about this incident," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a press release. "These dogs are a vital part of the Sheriff's Department and the unnecessary death of one saddens us all." References« SC State Animal Cruelty Map
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