Utah officer won’t be charged in death of K-9 left in hot police car

A Utah Corrections officer who left his K-9 Loki in a parked police car for more than three hours on a hot July day last year, killing the dog, will not face criminal charges, Salt Lake County prosecutors announced Friday.

K-9 Loki’s death didn’t warrant charges against his handler, officer Jacob Lee Naccarato, because prosecutors ultimately deemed it a “profoundly unfortunate accident,” District Attorney Sim Gill wrote in a finding letter released Friday.

However, Gill added that prosecutors “believe that Loki’s death could — and should — have been avoided,” according to the letter.

“Where human error is anticipated, it is upon us as institutions to safeguard against that error,” Gill wrote. Apparently, he said, Utah Department of Corrections officials were aware of the potential for a dog to die like Loki did, and had installed K-9 heat alert systems in this vehicle.

But, the investigation found, the system wasn’t turned on and employees had not been trained in how to use it. Since Loki’s death, the department said it has implemented the technology and has created new policies meant to keep K-9s safe.

“We are devastated about the loss of Loki,” said Glen Mills, Corrections communications director. “It was a mistake that could have been prevented. We realize that and take responsibility for that, and it’s really important for us to learn from this and make sure that it never happens again.”

Naccarato, who was placed on administrative leave after Loki’s death, declined to be interviewed by investigators and did not give them a statement, the letter said. He still works at the department, Mills said, but no longer handles K-9s — “and there are no plans for him to have one anytime soon.”

Now that the criminal investigation has concluded, Mills said the department will begin its own internal review of Loki’s death. He said it’s unclear how long that investigation will take.

What happened to Loki

On July 13, 2023, Naccarato retrieved Loki from his kennel at the Utah State Correctional Facility around 2:30 p.m. so the dog could search a warehouse at the prison. Loki finished the search, and Naccarato put the dog back in the running police vehicle at 3:02 p.m. Naccarato and another officer then went back inside to search the building, according to a news release.

They returned to the car and arrived back at the kennel building at 3:12 p.m. Both officers went inside to store their vests and bags, but left Loki in the car. This time, prosecutors found, the car was turned off. The officers later left the building on foot, but returned around 3:32 p.m. to retrieve their equipment, “after being alerted to an incident that later resolved itself.” Loki remained in the car.

At 3:44 p.m., the officers left in a different vehicle with a third officer to find a “missing tool” at the warehouse they had searched earlier. They returned at 6:30 p.m. About 15 minutes later, Naccarato went to grab Loki from his kennel and discovered the dog was not inside, according to Gill’s letter. Naccarato ran outside to check the car, and found Loki still inside, dead.

Temperatures that day reached as high as 97 degrees and the vehicle was not parked in the shade. A necropsy found that Loki likely died of heatstroke.

New K-9 safeguards

Before Loki’s death, Corrections procedures were to remove dogs from vehicles when the officer was at home or in the K-9 building on the prison campus. Otherwise, the dogs could remain in the vehicle when officers are on-duty responding to issues, the letter read. The car was to remain on when the dog is inside.

The Department of Corrections has since made changes, including implementing the heat alert system and trainings its officers to use it. Officers will now undergo annual training on the technology, as well, Mills said, and must carry a pager that will alert them if the system detects temperatures that are too high.

The department has also changed policy so that K-9s can only travel in vehicles equipped with the heat alert technology. The vehicle must remain running at all times, and K-9s must be removed from cars after all calls for service. If a dog remains in a car during a call, an officer must check on it every 15 minutes. Handlers must also verify the dog is not in a vehicle after it has been turned off.

Mills said K-9s are an important part of Corrections operations, and play a “key role in maintaining security” by sniffing out drugs and other contraband at the prison.

Loki started working at the Corrections department in 2017 and helped with drug detection and catching fugitives, according to a news release. He was an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois.