K-9 found dead in hot car - Alpine, CA

Friday, Jun 20, 2008

County: San Diego

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Paul Hubka

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

City and county authorities are investigating the death of a San Diego police dog whose body was found in the back seat of a patrol car at his handler's home.

The grim discovery was made Friday in Alpine, where temperatures had topped 100 degrees.

According to the San Diego Police Department, the dog was a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois named Forrest. Forrest stayed with his handler at this house in Alpine, about 20 miles east of downtown San Diego.

Sources familiar with the investigation identified the dog's handler as Paul Hubka, a 22-year veteran who's a director of the San Diego Police Officers Association. Sources told NBC 7/39 Hubka returned from an overnight shift, went into his house, and came out a few hours later to discover Forrest's body in the back seat of his patrol car.

Police, sheriff's deputies and animal control officers converged on the neighborhood and began an investigation that's still awaiting necropsy results.

Officials said Malinois are a deep-chested breed, susceptible to an often-fatal ailment known as gastric tortion. The San Diego Police Department said they have lost two Malinois to gastric tortion in the past couple of years.

But the stifling weather and circumstances leading to Forrest's death have suggested the possibility of heat exposure.

Hubka's next-door neighbor, Bill Mariotti, said Hubka moonlights extensively while off-duty. Mariotti thinks the officer may have been exhausted, and might have fallen asleep without letting Forrest out of the car.

Mariotti said Hubka was nothing but diligent in handling Forrest.

"Taking care of the animal, feeding the animal, watering the animal. Every time he came in off shift, same thing -- let the dog run around, exercise a little bit -- let the dog spool down."

For now, investigators and POA officials are withholding comment on the case.

Last summer, two police dogs -- one in suburban Phoenix, the other in suburban Atlanta -- died of heat exposure after being left for hours in their handlers' patrol cars. The police sergeant involved in the Arizona case goes to trial Friday on misdemeanor charges of animal neglect.

Case Updates

The San Diego city attorney Tuesday dropped his civil lawsuit seeking damages from a San Diego police officer for the heatstroke death of his police dog. City Atty. Michael Aguirre also indicated he is no longer seeking to block the officer from receiving his $50,000 share of a settlement of a lawsuit by three canine officers against the city. The lawsuit alleged the three deserved higher pay. Officer Paul Hubka pleaded no contest last week to misdemeanor animal neglect in the death of Forrest, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois. Hubka was fined $411 and agreed to pay half the cost of replacing Forrest. Aguirre said he expects Hubka to use some of the settlement to help the Police Department buy a system that automatically rolls down windows on squad cars on hot days.

Source: LA Times - Sept 2, 2008 Update posted on Sep 2, 2008 - 8:59PM

A veteran San Diego police officer pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor charge of animal neglect. Officer Paul Hubka, a 22-year veteran of the department, was ordered to pay a $411 fine and $4,941 in restitution for the death of his police dog. The dog, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, died of heat stroke after being left in the back of Hubka's police car on a day when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Hubka was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and will serve three years' probation. After the death of the dog, named Forrest, Hubka was transferred out of the canine patrol, where he had served most of his career. He said that leaving the dog in the back of his car was a mistake. He had returned home after an overnight shift and had left the dog in the car. With 45 dogs for patrol and weapons and drug duties, the San Diego Police Department boasts the largest K-9 unit of any department in the country.

Source: LA Times - Aug 29, 2008 Update posted on Aug 29, 2008 - 6:08PM

A San Diego police officer whose canine partner died after being left in the officer's sweltering patrol car was charged Friday in connection with the dog's death, according to the District Attorney's Office. Officer Paul Hubka faces one misdemeanor count of leaving a dog in a closed car in a high-temperature causing death. If convicted, he could face up to six months in jail, a fine and be ordered to pay restitution, a district attorney spokesman said. A necropsy performed on Forrest, a 5 year-old Belgian Malinois, found the animal died of heatstroke on June 20 outside the officer's home in Alpine. Hubka, a 22-year veteran of the department, is accused of leaving the dog in the police cruiser with the windows rolled up on a day when temperatures in the East County reached over 100 degrees, according to the District Attorney's Office. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 28. "There's no one that feels worse than he does," San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne said in an interview Friday. "It's very clear that he lost a partner he was attached to and he knows it was his fault, and he takes absolute responsibility." Hubka's attorney could not be reached Friday afternoon. The chief said he will decide on any discipline to administer in the case when the internal investigation is completed in two to three weeks. "I do not see this as a termination case," Lansdowne said. "I believe it was a mistake." In 2006, a state law was enacted making it a misdemeanor for a person to leave a dog unattended in a vehicle causing great bodily injury or death. Only intentional animal cruelty is a felony. In an effort to prevent similar tragedies in the future, the Police Department announced Friday that it plans to buy heat-alert systems for its fleet of 53 police dog cars similar to those used in other hot-temperature cities such as Dallas, Las Vegas and Phoenix. When the back seat of the patrol car reaches a certain temperature, the system will automatically lower the car's windows, switch on the air conditioning and sound an alarm. The technology will cost about $36,000. The criminal case is separate from the lawsuit filed against Hubka by City Attorney Michael Aguirre last week. Aguirre is asking for the officer to pay for the training and replacement costs of a new dog. Aguirre also has refused to pay a $50,000 court settlement to Hubka that was agreed upon before the dog died. Hubka is the third law enforcement officer in the county to be charged with a crime in the past three weeks. San Diego police Officer Frank White faces two charges in an off-duty shooting and road-rage incident in Oceanside, and San Diego County Sheriff's Detective Thomas Sadler faces five felony charges stemming from accusations that he molested a prostitute while on duty. Both Sadler and Hubka are set to be arraigned on the same day before the same judge.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune - Aug 15, 2008 Update posted on Aug 15, 2008 - 10:20PM

City Attorney Michael Aguirre said Monday he will deny a $50,000 settlement award to a San Diego police officer whose canine partner died of heat stroke in the back of the officer's closed vehicle. The settlement award was part of a successful lawsuit filed against the city of San Diego by three officers who maintained that the extra pay they receive for handling police dogs should be included in their base compensation in order to determine their retirement benefits. The San Diego City Council approved a payment of $223,000 to attorney Michael Conger, who represented the officers, and $50,000 to Officer Paul Hubka, whose dog Forrest died while in Hubka's care on June 20. "Conger can have his blood money, but for the life of me I cannot justify payment of $50,000 to a police officer for care of an animal that he allowed to died under his protection," Aguirre said. But Conger said Aguirre doesn't have the power to alter the June 24 judgment handed down by Superior Court Judith Hayes. Conger said the officers won the case in court and on appeal, and will now have to go back to court -- costing the taxpayers more money -- to make sure the city pays. A county of San Diego investigation found that Forrest -- a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois -- had been left in Hubka's car, which was parked in the driveway of his Alpine home with the windows rolled up for possibly as long as seven hours. Conger said Hubka's "very horrible day" shouldn't take away from 18 years of honorable service on the department.

Source: 10 News - Aug 5, 2008 Update posted on Aug 5, 2008 - 10:43AM

References

• « CA State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in San Diego County, CA

  Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.
  
  For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.