Cop charged after police dog left in hot car for 12 hours dies as alert system was manually turned off

Savannah police Lt. Daniel Zeigler is charged by prosecutors in Missouri with misdemeanor animal abuse after he allegedly left his K-9 partner, Horus, in his vehicle following an overnight shift, leading to the dog’s death from heat exposure.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed the charge on Friday, stemming from an incident on June 20 when Zeigler completed his shift with Horus around 5 a.m.

Later that evening, Zeigler called Savannah police Chief David Vincent to report that Horus had died, with prosecutors noting that temperatures reached 88 degrees that day.

A neighbor reported seeing Horus’ body by Zeigler’s cruiser and overhearing Zeigler express disbelief, stating he thought he had brought the dog inside after their shift. The neighbor also recalled hearing Zeigler take responsibility for the death while speaking to Chief Vincent during the dog’s burial.

Zeigler’s police vehicle was equipped with an AceK9 system, designed to activate fans, lower windows, and sound an alarm if the temperature inside the vehicle exceeded 90 degrees.

A week after the incident, Missouri State Police tested the system, confirming it was functional and that it would have been manually deactivated. Prosecutors argued that deactivating this safeguard contributed directly to Horus’ death by preventing the system from activating to protect the dog.

Zeigler faces up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charge. He avoids harsher penalties under a newly-signed law, which would impose a class D felony for killing a police dog, as that law went into effect after the incident.

The new law allows for up to seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine for harming or killing a police K-9.

Horus, a German shepherd who joined the Savannah Police Department in February 2021, was 2 years old when he started serving. He and Zeigler had undergone eight weeks of training before beginning patrols in May 2021.

The department expressed its grief, with Chief Vincent stating, “The Savannah Police Department, and the entire community, suffered a tremendous loss.”

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Many commenters voiced outrage on social media, reacting to the announcement of Horus’ death.