Police Dog Handler Faces Life Ban

Sat, 04 July 2009 Courtesy of: The Sun Online

The police dog handler who left his two German Shepherds to die in an overheated car could be banned from working with dogs for life, it was revealed today.

The RSPCA pledged yesterday there will be no cover up in the probe into the deaths of dogs - baked to death in a private car belonging to the officer which he parked at Nottinghamshire Police headquarters as temperatures soared to 86F.

It is unclear how long the dogs had been in the car on what was the hottest day in the area for three years. But temperatures inside the vehicle could have reached 116F.

If prosecuted and found guilty of animal cruelty the unnamed bobby - a "very experienced dog handler" - could be banned from working with animals again.

If taken to court by the RSPCA and convicted he could face a maximum sentence of six months jail and a £20,000 fine if he was convicted of causing cruelty to the dogs.

An RSPCA said: "In cases such as these people have been prosecuted in the past.

"The same guidelines apply when it comes to prosecuting a police officer or a member of the public.

"What we would do is investigate and then decide what is the best course of action but there is no intention to cover anything up.

"What can happen, and what does happen, is that the courts use other appropriate sanctions such as a lifetime ban to prevent tragic incidents being repeated."

The dog-handler who has not been suspended but is currently on leave at home, will be questioned by RSPCA inspectors next week.

They will want to examine the vehicle and establish how long the dogs were left unattended and why.

Nottinghamshire are carrying out their own internal investigation, Chief Superintendent Ak Khan confirmed Notts police had received a number of angry calls from members of the public, upset by the deaths.

Dozens more have expressed their anger on local radio stations and in regional newspapers.

Supt Khan said: "This has caused understandable upset and shock to all concerned.

"There are procedures in place and it is important that we go back and review those and make sure that we have complied with them.

"We are taking the matter very seriously and we can understand the upset that this has caused. We will certainly learn any lessons and make sure this never happens again."