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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 28, 2016 09:20 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Scott Conklin |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | K-9 Heat-detection Devices in Emergency Vehicles |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation requiring any emergency vehicle transporting a police dog to be equipped with a K-9 heat-detection device. On July 7, 2016, a drug-detecting dog named Totti was left inside a hot vehicle for over two hours after a training exercise at the State Correctional Institution Rockview. Sadly, Totti, a 2-year-old yellow lab, succumbed to the injuries sustained from being locked in the hot car. While an investigation into the matter is pending, I believe that we can do more to prevent similar incidences in the future. On July 21, 2016, my local news station aired a segment about police departments that utilize K-9 heat detection devices in police vehicles in order to ensure the safety of police dogs. When the inside of the vehicle reaches a certain temperature, these heat detection systems sound an alarm and the car horn, and automatically lower the windows. At a cost of around $900.00, I believe these machines are a reasonable safety measure than can prevent the loss of a trained police dog, which costs roughly $20,000.00. Accordingly, I will be introducing legislation that requires any emergency vehicle transporting a K-9 officer to be equipped with a K-9 heat-detection device. While I know there will be concerns associated with the cost of this life-saving necessity, the life of a police dog is no less valuable than that of his handler. Please join me in ensuring the continued safety of our K-9 protectors. |
Introduced as HB2310