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Died – 4/21/15
Kissimmee Police mourning sudden death of K9
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the death of a Kissimmee Police dog after a training exercise Tuesday, officials said. Igor, a 4-year-old German shepherd, had been with the department since 2012, Kissimmee Police spokeswoman Stacie Miller said. His handler, whose name Miller declined to release because of the investigation, found him dead Tuesday evening after a weekly training exercise. The cause of Igor’s death may have been heat-related, Miller said. Both Kissimmee police and the FDLE declined to say where Igor was found dead. “We are very saddened at the loss of K9 Igor,” Kissimmee Police Chief Lee Massie said in a statement. “And as with any officer involved death, the Kissimmee Police Department has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an investigation into K9 Igor’s sudden passing.” The FDLE does not routinely investigate deaths of law enforcement dogs, spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said. But the Kissimmee Police Department asked the agency to examine the death. “We will be looking at whether there’s criminal negligence in the death of the dog,” Plessinger said. Plessinger said she could not say anything more about the investigation. “At this point, we’re in the very early stages of this investigation and we’re in the process of conducting interviews,” she said. A necropsy will be conducted, Plessinger said. The Kissimmee Police Department will conduct its own internal investigation into the death as well, Massie said. “At the conclusion of FDLE’s investigation, the Kissimmee Police Department will conduct an internal investigation to ensure policies and procedures were followed,” Massie said. Igor was one of three dogs on the Kissimmee Police canine unit, Miller said.
