K-9 Deaths: Sheriff’s Officer Rejects Plea Deal in Hot Car Case

The South Jersey sheriff's officer who is facing animal cruelty charges after two K-9s in his care on May 29th died when he left them in a hot car for seven hours, appeared in court for the first time on the charges on Thursday.

Officer Charged in Deaths of 2 K-9's Faces Multiple Animal Cruelty Counts

The police investigation into the dogs’ deaths found that Henderson left the animals in a sheriff’s department vehicle that day parked in the county's courthouse parking lot from about 8:30 am until about 3:30 pm.

News accounts say that Henderson, the department's K-9 officer, left the dogs in a vehicle that was not running, with its windows closed, and the K-9 heat alarm to protect the dogs not activated.

He had the option to place the dogs in the indoor kennels that were “immediately available, but didn't do it.

That afternoon, when Henderson found the dogs unresponsive in the car, he took them to an animal hospital in Delaware, but they were already dead, according to prosecutors.

Background on K-9 Rip & K-9 Boomer

Rip, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, was a patrol and narcotics-detection dog that was with the department for nearly three years.

Boomer, a 6-year-old English Springer Spaniel, was a bomb-detection dog that worked with the sheriff’s office for the past five years.

In a Facebook post, Salem County Sheriff Chuck Miller wrote that the department “remains deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our K-9 partners, Rip and Boomer.

These exceptional canines dedicated their lives to serving and protecting the residents of Salem County and were valued members of our law enforcement family.”