K-9 Officer Dies in Car - ABC5 News Des Moines, IA

K-9 Officer Dies in Car

by Phil Prazan

pprazan@myabc5.com

@PhilPrazan

The Des Moines Police force lost one of their own Wednesday.

A Police K-9 by the name of Harley was found dead in an undercover car.

Harley and his handler, Officer Brian Mathis, were on an undercover operation.

Officer Mathis was out of the car making several pimping and prostitution arrests. When he returned to his car, he found Harley's body.
 
Police Officials say a preliminary investigation shows that heat was a factor in Harley's death.

The car was not a squad car or a normal K-9 Unit car.  It was one of the PD's un-marked undercover cars.

Harley has worked for the force for seven years.

His skills were used for narcotics investigations, spending a lot of time in airports and post offices.

He worked and lived with Officer Mathis.
 
"Tragic, and very devastating obviously.  Officer Mathis lost a partner of seven years and this is a dog that he took home so he lost a family member as well," says Sgt. Chris Scott with Des Moines PD.

Police are conducting an internal investigation on this issue.

Disciplinary actions will be announced after those results.

According to the Iowa State Code, animal neglect is a simple misdemeanor and can come with a $100 fine.