San Diego officer charged in police dog's heat stroke death

[Liberal_in_LA]

San Diego officer charged in police dog's heat stroke death

Officer Paul Hubka's police dog died after it was left outside in a closed car on a hot day. If convicted of the misdemeanor, Hubka would face a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a fine.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
11:35 AM PDT, August 15, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- A veteran San Diego police officer was charged today with a misdemeanor in the heat stroke death of his police dog.

Paul Hubka, a 22-year veteran of the department, was charged under a state law making it a crime to leave a dog in a closed car on a hot day.


Hubka's police dog, Forrest, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, died after Hubka left it for hours in his police car outside his home in rural Alpine on a day when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees. A necropsy determined that the dog had died of heat stroke. Friends have said Hubka was emotionally devastated by the dog's death.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deaddog16-2008aug16,0,5640627.story

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Poor goggy :^(

[Clark2008]

2. Good.

[Muttocracy]

3. outside his home? that's bizarre. Didn't a police dog die

a couple of years ago when the AC in the police car failed, or the engine cut off or something?

[madrchsod]

5. that`s what happened in my town....

the car shut off and the dog was in the car for at least two hours with the windows rolled up....

[madrchsod]

4. this happened in my town too..but

the dog was in the car outside the police station. the policeman was not charged. he left the force the following year

[The Stranger]

6. Why in the fuck do people continue to leave children and pets in their cars?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

[wryter2000]

7. Hell, they do it with their children, too

They should be put in a hot car for a couple of hours so they can contemplate what their child or pet suffered.

[EFerrari]

8. Only six months? Mfer.

[Gman]

9. I called 911 one day because a deputy sheriff had his dog in the car

and it was close to 100 that day. It was at the gym. I found out who the guy was first and gave him a chance to do something about it before I called 911. He said I would be arrested for making a false 911 call. I told him fuck you in so many words. I called 911, told them it was a deputy sheriff's dog in a squad car and I told 911 I wasn't sure if it was an emergency or not but that he said I would be arrested for making a false 911 call. (I knew full well the 911 call was being recorded!) A police squad car showed up, came inside and spoke with the deputy sheriff. The deputy left a short time later. I've only seen the guy once or twice since.

The former Sheriff here is a golf buddy of mine. I was just thinking the whole time while the guy was threatening me with arrest that this is one stupid SOB. He didn't have a clue who he was fucking with. I could have called the Sheriff's cell phone, told him what was happening and what the guy said and he would have been fired. I didn't want the guy to lose his job. I just wanted the dog taken care of.

[hvn_nbr_2]

16. OMG! Your sig line!

Lee Mercer must have graduated from the George W. Bush Coleeje of Retturic and Speechifying before doing his post-doc at the Monica Goodling Justuce Skool of Liberty U.

[hlthe2b]

10. He may well have been devastated, but how the hell....

did he let this happen? Geebus, I'm at work worrying about my doggy girl, even though she's undoubtedly snoozing away on my down comforter on my bed, with a fan directly blowing on her (to move the A/C a little more efficiently, the radio left on for entertainment, a bowl full of her favorite food, and play toys all over the house. Knowing she is terrified of thunder, I'm worried every time the clouds darken... She is on my mind the same as any child.

How, the heck could anyone leave a dog, much less a police dog in a hot car. This is just inexplicable to me...

[Booster]

11. This officer killed his partner - plain & simple. Should have a

stiffer penalty IMO.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

13. If an actor killed a police dog...

during the commission of a crime, in a lot of jurisdictions that actor would be charged with killing a police officer. Really.

[LisaL]

14. I believe so too.

[alstephenson]

12. Same thing happened here in the Phoenix area.

Unbelievable that this could happen.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/06/police.dog/index.html

[anitar1]

15. Perhaps his snetence should be to experience the same

thing the poor dog did. shut him up in a car for many hours on a very hot day. Creep. I keep running across articles that sound like Texas , only to find they are in other locales. Guess the virus has covered the country. edit spelling.

[MindPilot]

17. OK, here's what I don't get

A police dog is basically its handler's partner. If I were to kill a K9 I would likely be charged with murder of a police officer, so how could a cop simply forget and leave their partner in the car?

I submit that if the guy was that absent-minded perhaps he shouldn't be carrying a gun or driving.