Hawaiʻi – On September 5, the Hawaiʻi Police Department announced the tragic death of K9 Archer, a valued member of the department’s Vice Section. According to a news release from the department, K9 Archer died because he was left of an “unacceptable” amount of time in a patrol vehicle.
Interim Police Chief Reed Mahuna said:
“This was a preventable tragedy, dogs should not be left unattended in a vehicle for any period of time. Archer was not just a police dog, he was a partner, protector, and a member of our police family.”
Adding:
“the K9 handler involved in this case is devastated as you would expect, nevertheless a thorough criminal and administrative investigation will be conducted. We are committed to accountability and making sure something like this never happens again.”
The department said:
Archer, a six-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix from Hungary, joined Hawai‘i Police Department in 2021 and was trained in narcotics detection. He served alongside his handler in numerous operations, assisting in keeping drugs and dangerous contraband off Hawai‘i Island streets.
Mahuna cautioned all pet owners of the dangers associated with leaving dogs in unattended, parked vehicles:
“Please be mindful that you should never leave a dog in a hot car, leaving your car in the shade, with water for the dog or with the windows partially down even in mild weather will not prevent your dog from overheating. Hundreds of dogs die each year being left unattended in vehicles and that number is surely much higher as many cases are never reported.”
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1 Comment
It is unacceptable that the dogs handler wasn’t awarye of leaving an animal or human in a hot car that could cause death?? Did this person not know that I doubt it !! What kind of dog handler not have common sense of common knowledge. You don’t have to be a genius to know that leaving an animal or human in a hot car for extended time period will be very serious and lead to death . The HPD chief on the Big Island shouldn’t minimize the death of that police K9 dog.Take accountability and stop making excuses for the dog handler. Whoever this person is should be exposed to the public and not hidden clearly this dog handler is not qualified to even be in the police department. It is a embarrassment to the department and the Chief of police should be ashamed to be giving lame excuses for this dog handler. It is very disturbing to know that these officers are there to serve and protect the community is very scary!!! VERY SCARY!!!