Deputy fired after police dog dies in hot patrol car
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
A Georgia sheriff's deputy has been fired after a beloved police dog died in a hot patrol car.
It was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Trenton when a member of the Dade County Sheriff's Office's K-9 team died inside the patrol car on Sunday, police said in a press release.
The dog, whose name was Georgia, was left unattended in her handler's patrol car for an 'unacceptable amount of time,' the sheriff's office said. The deputy was inside the sheriff's office when Georgia was dying in the car. Police did not specify for how long the K-9 was left inside the patrol car.
But other factors led to Georgia's death, such as the air conditioner compressor in the car malfunctioning. There was a heat alarm in the car, but police said it also 'was not functioning.'
A Georgia sheriff's deputy has been fired after a beloved police dog died in a hot patrol car (Dade County Sheriff's Office)
There have been 55 reports of dogs and other 'companion animals' dying from heat-related causes this year, according to PETA. The animal rights group's numbers appear not to have included Georgia's death.
Georgia's handler was fired, and police said they will notify the Dade County District Attorney's Office 'to determine if prosecution is warranted.'
The sheriff's office promised '100%' transparency about Georgia's death and listed changes they will be implementing to make sure no other dog is lost on their watch.
'Going forward, any K-9 vehicle we have will be taken out of service if ANY of the essential K-9 equipment isn't in 100% working order,' the sheriff's office said.
'We are also going to overhaul our K-9 handler policy, and K-9's WILL NOT be left in vehicles for extended periods of time during summer.'
Georgia was donated to police by a local family, and the sheriff's office said, 'Our hearts are aching at the loss.'
'She was an amazing bloodhound who was sweet, goofy, and had all the potential to be the 'best of the best,' the sheriff's office said. 'She will be deeply missed by everyone at our office, and by anyone who had the pleasure to meet her.'
Georgia resident Kaylee Shields called for '#justiceforgeorgia' in a Facebook post Tuesday.
'If a citizen left their dog in a vehicle and it 'malfunctioned,' resulting in death of the dog, the owner would be prosecuted. I hope this officer is held accountable for this,' Shields wrote.
Children are also at risk of dying in cars during the summer heat.
The National Safety Council said there have been 15 reported heatstroke deaths of children in cars this year. There were 39 deaths in 2024.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Beware the blizzard of lies: US advice on how to handle Farage's Trump tactics
Truth, the progressive California politician Hiram Johnson once said, is the first casualty of war. His oft-cited remark was supposedly made in 1918 in reference to the first world war, which had by then caused millions of human casualties. More than a century later, truth is again caught in the crossfire, this time as a casualty of 21st-century culture wars. If Donald Trump is the high priest of disinformation, then Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, is showing signs of being a willing disciple, if his behaviour in the UK this week is anything to go by. Farage has proposed sending prisoners abroad – including to El Salvador, where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of deportees and suggested sending US citizens. He also suggested an extensive police recruitment drive and prison-building programme all while cutting health and education spending. The parroting of Trump's policies by a UK populist has not gone unnoticed in the US. And for those who have studied the president's modus operandi, there is one particular tactic the British public should be braced for: the blizzard of lies and false statements that frequently overwhelms his opponents. The Trump experience, they say, contains sobering lessons for Farage's critics. US pro-democracy campaigners says Trump has become even harder to factcheck since his first term, thanks to a combination of factors including looser social media content moderation and a reluctance among some media owners to stand up to his intimidation. The Washington Post, which tracked more than 30,000 lies or misleading statements from Trump during his presidency, lost subscribers and public trust after its billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, reportedly vetoed an editorial endorsing the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president. 'It's become more difficult because there's less commitment from those who are in the best position to do the factchecking,' said Omar Noureldin, a senior vice-president for Common Cause, a non-partisan group. 'Seeking the truth here comes with costs and risks.' Complicating matters is the loss of trust in institutions, with many consumers relying on social media platforms for news. 'Even the best factchecking can be unpersuasive, because we're not just facing an information crisis here, but also a trust crisis in the American information ecosystem,' Noureldin said. Media watchers say the political environment has become so deeply polarised that factchecking can even have the counter-productive effect of further entrenching misplaced beliefs. 'From a lot of research, we're reaching the conclusion that factchecking hasn't been as effective as one would want,' said Julie Millican, the vice-president of Media Matters for America, a media watchdog. 'One reason is that information and disinformation spreads faster than you can check it. It takes a lot longer to factcheck something than it does for it go viral. 'But the other thing is factchecking can backfire. People so distrust institutions that factchecking can validate the misinformation in their minds and make them more inclined to believe the lie they believed in the first place.' A 2022 report from Protect Democracy suggests this is the result of a deliberate strategy of authoritarian regimes. 'Disinformation is spread through coordinated networks, channels and ecosystems, including politically aligned or state-owned media,' the report said. 'The goal is not always to sell a lie, but instead to undermine the notion that anything in particular is true.' Further complicating the problem in the US has been Trump's appointment of allies to key government agencies that have traditionally served as sources of accurate and reliable data for factcheckers. A case in point is Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has engaged in anti-vaccine theories. As Trump's pick for health and human services secretary, he is in charge of the country's vast health bureaucracy. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Factchecking wasn't working very well in the first place, but now you can't even get access to the facts that you need be able to factcheck as well as you used to,' said Millican. The outlook seems bleak, but campaigners say that does not make the problems insurmountable. One answer is to invest in independent, non-partisan research. A prime purpose would be to increase media literacy among young people, who primarily get news from platforms such as TikTok which can be subject to disinformation tools such as AI-manipulated videos. The aim is to teach consumers how to spot doctored footage. 'Media literacy is extremely important and something that should be invested in and taught at a young age,' said Millican. Another solution is the development of 'pre-buttal' strategies to inoculate the public against disinformation, in effect getting the truth out first. Media Matters for America and Common Cause used this approach during last year's presidential election, partly by producing videos designed to counter anticipated false narratives surrounding voting procedures in certain areas. Also important, said Shalini Agarwal, special counsel at Protect Democracy, is calling out the demonisation of vulnerable groups, such as immigrants, as soon as it happens. A crucial role is played by media, even as Trump intensifies his assault on journalists as 'fake news' and tries to exclude certain established outlets from press briefings. 'It's really important when there are opportunities for one-on-one briefings and there are multiple reporters,' Agarwal said. 'Part of it is a sense of collective action. Often, whoever is speaking at the podium won't give a straightforward answer or gives a false answer and then tries to move on – it's incumbent when that happens for other reporters to jump in and say: 'Wait. What about what the other reporter asked?'' Millican has two pieces of advice for Britain and other European countries hoping to arm themselves against any coming authoritarian onslaught: fortify the media and preserve legislation designed to combat disinformation and illegal content online – represented by the online safety act in Britain and the digital safety act in the EU. 'The first thing that's going to happen in these authoritarian takeovers is they're going to try to silence and take over the media and information landscape,' she said. 'Any efforts to rein in hate speech or misinformation on platforms will be seen as tantamount to suppression of conservative thought or free speech. 'I can't stress enough trying to buffer the pollution of your information ecosystem as much as possible. One of the first things that they're going to do is just take down any barriers they can.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Starmer risks clash with Trump on Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer will press Donald Trump on whether more can be done to end the war in Gaza at a meeting in Scotland on Monday. The Prime Minister's urging for securing a ceasefire raises the risk of a clash with the US president, who has said that Hamas does not want peace. It comes as Mr Trump continues his short visit to Scotland, during which he was expected to visit both of his golf courses. He will also meet Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, to discuss trade ties between the US and the European Union. The Telegraph understands Sir Keir and Mr Trump's one-on-one talks will focus on how Britons and Americans can benefit from the UK-US trade deal struck in May. He is also expected to discuss further support for Ukraine. But the Prime Minister is expected to enter more contentious territory as he seeks to explore further steps that could be taken to secure an 'urgent' ceasefire in Gaza. He will go on to affirm his support for the return of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. On Saturday, the Prime Minister confirmed Britain would evacuate critically ill children from the Gaza Strip and said he was working with Jordan on a plan to drop aid into the territory by air. He said: 'Israel must allow aid in over land to end the starvation unfolding in Gaza. The situation is desperate. 'We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment.' At the talks in Scotland, Sir Keir will also discuss how to end the Russia-Ukraine war after Mr Trump turned on Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in recent weeks. Mr Trump told Britain to 'get its act together' on illegal migration as he landed in Scotland on Friday, claiming that a 'horrible invasion' was taking place. Last week, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, condemned Emmanuel Macron's 'reckless' announcement that France will recognise Palestine as a state in September. Sir Keir promised to formally recognise Palestine in Labour's general election manifesto last year but has insisted on the need to do so at the right time. Writing for The Telegraph, Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, said recognition would amount to 'nothing less than a reward for terrorism'. Ms Hotovely said the decision would merely 'reward' the Oct 7 terrorists who killed about 1,200 Israelis and began the current cycle of violence in the Middle East. Sir Keir's reluctance to immediately recognise Palestine comes despite Cabinet colleagues, including Angela Rayner, his deputy, urging him to do so. Despite their political differences, Sir Keir and Mr Trump have forged a surprisingly warm personal relationship. The US president once again lavished the Prime Minister with praise after Air Force One touched down in Glasgow Prestwick on Friday. 'I like your Prime Minister – slightly more liberal than I am, as you probably heard, but he's a good man,' Mr Trump said. 'He got a trade deal done, and you know, they've been working on this deal for 12 years. He got it done. It's a good deal. It's a good deal for the UK.' Mr Trump insisted there would not be a renegotiation next week but promised a 'celebration' of the trade deal.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Elon Musk 'ordered Starlink shutdown' during Ukraine counterattack
The billionaire's command allegedly led to a communications blackout while Ukrainian forces attempted to retake the port city of Kherson in the south of the country in September 2022. The communication blackout, where staff at the American tech firm deactivated at least 100 Starlink terminals after being instructed to, reportedly caused the attack to fail, according to Reuters, which spoke with three people who were familiar with the demand. According to reports, the blackout caused Ukrainian soldiers to panic as drones surveilling Russian forces went dark, and long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim at their targets, struggled to hit them. READ MORE: 'He belongs in The Hague': Keir Starmer fiercely criticised over Gaza speech Although Ukrainian forces were able to reclaim Kherson, the incident was reported to have damaged the country's trust in the technology, along with shocking Starlink employees. One of the three people who were familiar with the instruction claimed it enabled Musk to take 'the outcome of a war into his own hands'. The Tesla-owner reportedly grew concerned that Ukrainian forces' advancements could provoke nuclear retaliation from Vladimir Putin. A spokesperson for SpaceX, the aerospace company that owns Starlink, told Reuters the reporting of the incident is 'inaccurate'. In March, Musk posted on his social media platform, X/Twitter: 'To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.' Starlink, which went live in 2019, is a satellite company that beams data across its network and is the world's largest satellite operator. It provides customers with internet access in remote and unreliable locations and has a network of around 8000 satellites in orbit. It has been a key tool in Ukraine's defence, as Musk has provided the country with more than 50,000 Starlink terminals during the war. The network has allowed Ukrainians to speak to relatives across the world, and President Zelensky uses the network to transmit broadcasts to the nation. It is also used by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield to communicate and is used to guide drones and long-range artillery units.
