COLUMBIA, SC (WLTX) -- Columbia police say a K-9 officer died after being left in a department vehicle for an extended period of time earlier this month.
Turbo, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, experienced a heat-related work injury on July 26, and died two days later, according to police. The K-9 officer served as part of the Columbia Police Department for 7 months training in explosive detection under Master Police Officer D. Hurt.
At the time of the incident, police called the death of the "beloved K-9" a "sudden" one. During a press conference Thursday, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said the department made some mistakes in relation to the incident.
According to Holbrook, Hurt left Turbo in K-9 vehicle during an active duty training day at C.A. Johnson High School on July 26. The car was parked under a covered awning with other K-9 vehicles with the windows lowered and air conditioning turned on.
However, Hurt reportedly disarmed the car's heat alarm, a safety device that activates and sends alerts when temperatures reach a certain setting. Holbrook says the officer didn't give any "logical" reason for turning off the alarm.
Turbo was left alone in the car from about 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — more than six hours in the car.
While water was available, the dog was not taken on any bathroom breaks. Around 11:30 a.m., Hurt reportedly asked a police recruit to retrieve his lunch from the car and check on the K-9. The recruit reported the dog looked fine and in good health.
When the officer returned to the car, he noticed Turbo was panting heavily with white foam around its snout, and was also unsteady on his feet. After talking with his supervisor and an animal hospital, the officer brought Turbo to an animal specialist center.
Turbo was treated for 33 hours with transfusions and treatments, with varying periods of improvements and declines in health. When Turbo went into organ failure around 1:58 a.m. on July 28, medical and department staff decided to euthanize the K-9.
Hurt was placed on a 5-day suspension without pay after a review board unanimously sustained a violation of neglect. He was also permanently removed as K-9 handler and his operational status with the department's bomb unit was suspended for 6 months.
The officer will not face any criminal charges after the case was reviewed by multiple parties.
"No one in review of this felt like there was any criminal intent whatsoever," Holbrook said. "Certainly a strong argument for neglect and extremely poor judgment, but did not rise to the level of a criminal violation."
As a result of this incident, the department plans to revamp its K-9 unit's regulations, which includes making the deactivation of a car's heat alarm while a dog is inside a violation and requiring frequent wellness checks on K-9 partners.
When it comes to cost, Holbrook says expenses for treatment and standard care along with training hours amount to $25,000 for the K-9.