Died After N.J. Officer Left Them in Hot Car for 7 Hours with Windows Closed, Prosecutors Say

A New Jersey police officer is facing animal cruelty charges after prosecutors allege he left two K-9s in a hot, closed car for seven hours, leading to their deaths. Salem County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Cody Henderson, 41, was charged in connection with the May 29 deaths of Rip and Boomer, the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday, July 7. Prosecutors allege Henderson left the animals in a sheriff’s vehicle parked at a county courthouse lot from about 8:30 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m., with the vehicle not running, windows closed, and the heat alarm not activated. After he found the dogs unresponsive, he took them to an animal hospital in Delaware, but prosecutors say they were already dead. A necropsy by the New Jersey Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory found likely hyperthermia.