Officer Arrested In Canine's Death

[Nomad559]

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/96635

The Chandler police officer whose police dog died after being left in a patrol vehicle for 13 hours has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Sgt. Thomas Lovejoy, Chandler’s K-9 handler and trainer, was booked into jail Wednesday on orders of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, sheriff's officials said.

“This was a difficult decision,” Arpaio said in a news release . “I am certain Sgt. Lovejoy has suffered greatly from leaving his police dog in a sweltering car. I do not relish the idea of compounding his sadness. However, Lovejoy must be treated like anyone else in similar circumstances. I have a strict policy on animal abuse and neglect whereby offenders are booked into jail.”

The sheriff's office didn’t learn of the incident until two days after the dog’s Aug. 11 death due to overheating. By that time, the dog’s remains were readied for cremation and the police vehicle cleaned. Once the sheriff's office determined that the location of Lovejoy’s home was in a county island, Arpaio sent out his animal crimes detectives to determine whether a criminal investigation should be opened.

[lonestarnot]

1. Lovejoy. Isn't that also the name of the cop in Phoenix who shot and killed a mother with her baby

in the car at a drugstore? Yes. I think it is.

[Ghost in the Machine]

2. I was just getting ready to post this too!

Cop Accused of Leaving K9 in Hot Car
Published: 9/6/07, 12:25 AM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) - A suburban police officer is accused of leaving a police dog in a patrol car for more than 12 hours on a 109-degree day, killing the animal.

Chandler police Sgt. Tom Lovejoy was booked into the Maricopa County jail on a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty after a two-week investigation into the death of a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois named Bandit. He was released later Wednesday, said Capt. Paul Chagolla, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's investigation showed Bandit was in Lovejoy's patrol car from about 9 a.m. to shortly after 10 p.m. Aug. 11. During that time, the investigation found, the officer ran errands, napped and ate out with his wife. Lovejoy later found the dog dead in the car.

http://home.bellsouth.net/s/editorial.dll?bfromind=7814&eeid=5394292&_sitecat=1522&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=2&ck=&ch=ne

[saracat]

6. He wasn't running "errand" (not that I defend this) but apparently his child was rushed to the

hospital and he went there and stayed with his wife and child and forgot the dog.I do not understand this and I am not sure I believe it but that is what was reported on the local news

[Kagemusha]

11. Oh so that's what happened! What a terrible thing.

I'd never heard why he abandoned the dog. While nominally inexcusable, I have to wonder if this is not "no jury would convict him" type of territory. He has my real sympathy now. Dogs are important, but one's own flesh and blood children, even more so.

Highly unfortunate all around...

[Kagemusha]

3. Gee, I'm astounded they actually took this step.

At the time I found the concept that the sherrif didn't have a policy for what to do in a case like this to be breathtaking. When they announced a review of the incident, to figure out if it was even a crime, I wasn't holding out much hope for this result.

And yet it would seem on the surface that the sherrif made the right decision in the end...

[Ghost in the Machine]

4. A lot of people have it out for Sheriff Joe because they don't like

some of his policies, like keeping prisoners in tent cities and making them wear pink boxers & t-shirts, but he seems to be fair in his decisions, however popular or unpopular that decision is, from what I've read of him.

[saracat]

5. He is almost never fair.He is the biggest ahole in the State.

He torments and punishes people who have never even been sent to trial and he has cost the country millions in lawsuits.He is the biggest chauvinist in the state.He treats women very badly.Joe is a rotten human being who is nothing more than a publicity hound.The only good thing I can say about him is he occasionally stands up for animals but I truly believe that is only for the publicity it generates for him Ugh!

[Ghost in the Machine]

7. I'll have to read up on him again then...

I guess it's been a couple years since I've read anything much other than about the tent city jails, which I have no problem with at all.

[saracat]

8. If you hadn't been convicted of anything you'd have a problem.And his crime is so bad in those jails

people are killed all the time. I actually met a women, she is now a Democrat, whose son was murdered intent city and Joe wouldn't even investigate.The accused and the inmates get "what they deserve" according to Joe.My BF is a PD and the stories are awful,I have met Joe many times at social events and he is very rude and arrogant!

[EFerrari]

9. Good. Wtf kind of "handler" are you to put a helpless animal

through that. Difficult decision, my granny.

[saracat]

13. Againsn.He was in the hospital with a child in serious condition. I sympathize but still don't get

it.My pets are like children to me and I don't take care of one at the expense of another.He could have gotten someoneelse to take care of the dog.

[EFerrari]

14. He's a cop. He could have made a phone call.

He's supposed to do well in emergencies AND he has a pool of people who can relieve him. :(

What a terribly sad story. He must feel like hell. And you know, we don't know what else this guy on his plate. :(

[saracat]

15. Thats what I thought too.I just don't get this .That poor, poor dog.It makes me.

sick!

[EFerrari]

18. It should just be illegal to leave living things in locked cars.

Because people are too damn stupid. :(

[RamboLiberal]

16. This is like the parents who forget their kid is in the car

Maybe this guy doesn't deserve jail, but he should never again be a K9 cop IMHO. In Arizona in the summer! You don't remember you have a big dog in the back of your vehicle! You don't notice the dog isn't in your house! And this guy was the head of the K9 unit. Yeah he got distracted by his son's accident but I still think it's inexcusable he forgot the dog was in the back seat.

If you're a private citizen and you do this to your dog - I guarantee you will probably at least get a hefty fine. Every story I've read said he parked at his house. If there's a story about him being at the hospital please post it.

A Chandler police dog that died after his handler left him unattended in a hot patrol car was in the vehicle more than 12 hours before being discovered.

Sgt. Tom Lovejoy discovered the body of Bandit, his 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, about 10 p.m. Saturday night. He parked the car at his home about 9:15 a.m. that day after working an extra duty assignment early Saturday morning, police said.

"When he arrived home, (Lovejoy) was out of his routine. And while getting mixed up in everyday stuff, he forgot about the car," said Sgt. Rick Griner, a Chandler police spokesman.

Griner said that shortly after entering his home, Lovejoy was told his teenage son had been in a car accident and the car was totaled.

Griner did not have information on whether Lovejoy's son was injured, but said the car accident may have distracted Lovejoy - head of the department's K-9 unit - and caused him to forget his dog, who would not have normally been with him on the extra duty shift. The decision was made to include the dog on Lovejoy's patrol given several recent high profile incidents, including the Chandler serial rapist case.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0813cr-deaddog.html

IMHO the Chandler PD really blew it - they should've investigated this. At the least IMHO he should've been dropped from being an K9 cop and served at least some unpaid suspension time. You also have to remember these highly trained K9s are very expensive to the taxpayer. I don't think he should serve any prison time, but whatever would happen to a private citizen pet owner should also apply to him.

...By then, the brass had already decided to forgo a criminal investigation.

"When he arrived home, (Lovejoy) was out of his routine. And while getting mixed up in everyday stuff, he forgot about the car," Sgt. Rick Griner said, adding that once home Lovejoy was told his son had been in a car accident.

None of which explains how he got inside in the first place while the dog was left behind, a point about which Chandler police seem astonishingly uncurious.

They blew it. While they're doing an internal inquiry to see if any policies were violated, they should have also opened a criminal investigation or at least asked another agency to do a review.

They owed it to their officer, the four-legged one.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0815roberts0815.html


Bandit

[Mythsaje]

10. His negligence killed a COP.

If anyone else kills a police dog, they get the book thrown at them so hard that the words on the spine are embossed on their forehead. And, yeah, if this sheriff is who I think he is, everything I know tells me he's an absolute prick.

This cop should be serving on one of his chain gangs.

[saracat]

12. Supposedly he was in the hospital with his kid.Dunno.

When my dad was dying I didn't forget to feed the cats.Just saying.And this was his partner.But it was more than "errands".So they say.

[ciltech]

17. Death sentence for killing a police officer...............

Sorry, forgot how they protect their own. And did you notice this was a blond colored dog? What would happen if this was a BLACK dog? Bet we would here a racist scream go up over it. So where's the screaming over restraining an officer and killing him? Yep, just because this isn't a 'human' officer we aren't going to treat it the same. Maybe we should bind up a human cop and leave him/her in a car. What kind of punishment will take place then? No, I don't have much respect for our ill-legal system to start with and this will just prove how corrupt it really is, if they don't go all the way and charge the handler with a felony.