COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police have released information about the circumstances that caused the death of K9 Chase on Monday, June 5.
According to police, multiple equipment failures in a patrol car were involved.
Chase was inside his in-car kennel while his handler, K9 Officer Neill, was inside Allatoona High School attending a scheduled active shooter training session.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Officer Neill was checking on Chase each hour.
Following the last check where Chase was safe, police say the patrol vehicle’s air conditioning unit failed.
“If the air conditioning system fails and the temperature reaches a point where it’s too hot, the safeguard automatically turns on the lights and the sirens, the windows automatically go down, and a fan turns on. The handler is notified and returns to their vehicle to address the problem,” the department said in a statement.
TRENDING STORIES:
- The wait is over! The first Tim Hortons location in Georgia is set to open later this month
- 24-year-old Ga. man killed after his SUV flips, throws him out of vehicle, then runs over him
- Police release photo of last time Gwinnett 14-year-old was seen since taking final exams, vanishing
Sadly, once the air conditioning in the patrol vehicle failed, the alert system did not activate, and Neill was not alerted about an issue until they returned to the vehicle to check on Chase.
Officers attempted life-saving measures on Chase and he was taken to a nearby emergency veterinary clinic, but Chase died due to heat-related injuries.
Cobb County police said once their investigation into Chase’s death is complete, they will release information on plans for change to prevent this from happening again.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
IN OTHER NEWS:
This browser does not support the video element.