K9 Inca – Cherokee County, Georgia

Died – 6/10/16
Handler – Lt. Dan Peabody

Police K9 left in patrol car dies in Cherokee County

Officials in Cherokee County have confirmed that a police K9 is dead after being left in a hot patrol car for several hours. The Cherokee Marshal’s Office and Cherokee Sheriff’s Office responded to the home of an unnamed school resource officer on Friday evening. According to a preliminary investigation, a Belgian Malinois named Inca was left in the officer’s patrol unit at about 4:15 p.m. The officer went into his home to “deal with another dog” inside the home. Officials said that around 7 p.m., the officer remembered Inca was still in the patrol car and found the police canine dead in the rear of the patrol unit. Inca will be taken to the University of Georgia for a necropsy. Investigation into the death is ongoing. According to a web page on the Cherokee County Board of Education, the canine unit began in 2007 and is used to deter the possession, use and sale of illegal substances on school campuses. The page said that two canine teams – one partnering Inca with Cherokee County Lt. Dan Peabody and another partnering Officer Eric Maddox with K9 Ayla, worked proactively with school-based administrators to conduct sweeps of vehicles, lockers and classrooms in accordance with School District protocols and departmental policy. The School District Police Department partners with other local jurisdictions for training, combined response and demonstrations purposes throughout the year. Officials would not elaborate on whether Peabody was the handler who still worked with the police dog or whether he was the officer who was responsible for Inca when the death occurred. Official documents said that each K9 and handler is certified annually by the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association and department training occurs on a weekly basis. The document, a Cherokee County School District Police Department status report from Dec. 3 has since been taken down as has a Facebook page dedicated to the school district K9 unit.

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Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.
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