After Mississippi K-9 dies of heat stroke, cars get alarms

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Hinds County K-9 officer that died of a heat stroke inside a deputy’s car has prompted the sheriff’s office to begin equipping vehicles with alarms to lower the risk of a repeat occurrence.

Multiple news outlets report Dex, the county’s top drug-detecting officer, was left inside Deputy Lafayette Martin’s running vehicle for about an hour last month while he went inside a restaurant for a lunch break. According to the sheriff’s office, the engine shut down on the 2016 Chevy Tahoe and the 6-year-old Belgium Malinois died.

Maj. Pete Luke said Thursday the sheriff has authorized equipping K-9 vehicles with “hot car” alarms as a safety net to offset it happening again. The device sounds an audible alarm and automatically lowers the windows when the interior gets too hot.