R. I. P. K9 Archer

[HiloJulie]

Well, it appears that no criminal charges will be filed against the officer/handler of former K9 Officer Archer.

Par for the course for Hilo/Hawaii.

Snip from HTH article:

There will be no criminal animal cruelty charges filed against Hawaii Police Department Officer Sidra Brown, the handler of K-9 Archer, the narcotics detection dog that died Sept. 4 after being left unattended in a police vehicle in Kona.

“After careful consideration of the evidence associated with this case, examination of the scene, and possible applicable law, our office has declined to prosecute this matter due to insufficient evidence of a crime,” the state Department of the Attorney General told the Tribune-Herald last week in an email.

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...27916c2aac

Internal Affairs investigation still ongoing.

[ChunksterK]

A dead dog in a locked car in a police station parking lot isn't enough evidence to file even a misdemeanor charge? Why am I not surprised?

[leilanidude]

Laws increasingly treat harming them as a serious felony in most states, akin to harming an officer, with charges like assault on a police officer or attempted murder possible depending on the state and intent, granting them special legal status and protections due to their critical role. (A.I. enhanced)

[MyManao]

A dead dog in a locked car in a police station parking lot isn't enough evidence to file even a misdemeanor charge?

I'm sure it would have been in Nazi Germany, but thankfully our state's AG isn't so immature as to make a charade out of misfortune.

[ChunksterK]

"Thankfully our state's AG isn't so immature as to make a charade out of misfortune."

Our state AG is a mature product of the good old boy and girl network who will do little or nothing to insert accountability into the system. And it's not just the current one, either. Haven't you noticed that it's always the Feds, and never the state, who file corruption charges against Hawaii office holders and others? The only time I can remember a state intiated corruption case was the one against Billy Kenoi, and the intent was to wreck his upstart political career and not to get a conviction.

Now if you want a Quixotic lawsuit filed that will never produce results, then the AG will be on it in a heartbeat.

Edited to get back on topic: Even if we put the cruelty to the dog aside, which we shouldn't, the loss of a county asset easily worth $15-20,000 is serious negligence. Yes, that's the starting price range for a Hungarian trained drug dog, and it goes way higher with specialized training.

[punikahakaiferret]

Heartbreaking. And as has been pointed out, not at all surprising for here. On the mainland, you kill a police dog? It is treated the same as if you kill a police officer (though no police officer would be left in a blazing hot vehicle with no way to get out).

Nowhere is it more obvious than Hawaii that animals are treated only as tools, not living breathing entities. Witness the abuse, neglect and lack of enforcement.

That poor, poor dog.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

treat harming them as a serious felony in most states, akin to harming an officer, with charges like assault on a police officer

The difference between a citizen harming a police dog, and in this case an officer harming her dog, is that presumably the citizen would have intended the harm, the officer’s harm was accidental. That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be some consequences, but perhaps her grief and acceptance of guilt was considered enough?

There are plenty of unknown unknowns here.

[HiloJulie]

The difference between a citizen harming a police dog, and in this case an officer harming her dog, is that presumably the citizen would have intended the harm, the officer’s harm was accidental.

With all due respect, I have a hard time terming this incident to be accidental, the key difference between accidental and negligent is that an accident is an unforeseen event beyond anyone's control, while negligence is an event caused by a failure to exercise reasonable care.

An accident is an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, generally resulting from factors that were not reasonably foreseeable whereas negligence involves a breach of a duty, when someone fails to act in a manner that a reasonable and prudent person would under the same or similar circumstances.

Even if we put the cruelty to the dog aside, which we shouldn't, the loss of a county asset easily worth $15-20,000 is serious negligence. Yes, that's the starting price range for a Hungarian trained drug dog, and it goes way higher with specialized training.

Let's not forget, that County asset cost of 15 to 20K is just for the dog. I think it's safe to say the the cost to outfit and equip the dog to do its intended job, including the cost to renovate the officers car to carry the dog, the cost to outfit the home of the handler to house the dog during non-working hours, continued training, feeding, veterinarian costs etc., puts that asset into the 50 to 60k range.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

the key difference between accidental and negligent

Maybe I should have said unintentional.
I watched two officers train a drug dog at the old airport cargo building one time. It had a long walkway on which they placed about 20 boxes of different shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. In one was whatever drug they were training the dog to find. The training is extensive.

[Chas]

I've said it before, but I'm amazed that in the "land of aloha", animals are treated worse than anywhere else in the U.S. that I have seen.