Georgia sergeant demoted after K9 dog found dead in back of patrol car

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A Georgia sergeant was demoted after his K9 dog was found dead in the back of a patrol car.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says that K9 “Khan” died after he was accidentally left in his pen inside a hot patrol car earlier this month.

Officials say that handler Deputy Willie Barkley returned home after working an overnight shift, and after completing paperwork in the patrol car, went inside his home to sleep.

But authorities say that instead of moving Khan, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois, to a pen at the property, he forgot to get him out from the patrol car.

And when he returned to the vehicle the next day he found that the dog had died from apparent overheating.

The department carried out an internal investigation and determined that it “was an avoidable accident.”

Prosecutors from the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office have agreed with the findings and no charges will be brought against Deputy Barkley.

But he has been demoted from sergeant to deputy, suspended for five days without pay and removed from field operations.

“There were no health issues with the dog. Dog was healthy. Although it wasn’t a hot day, the temperature was around 79 that day,” Sheriff Brad Freeman told 13WMAZ.

“A lot of people don’t realize it might be 79 outside, which is not hot for us, but in the car, it can go up 20 degrees. It could be 90+ degrees in that car. Therefore, no one can handle that -- human or animal.”