A former Delaware Correctional Officer and K9 handler is indicted on three charges.
The Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust says former officer Darrel Wiley faces charges for leaving four-year-old law enforcement animal named Lux confined and unattended in an official vehicle for more than 4 hours last September.
The temperature that day exceeded 80 degrees, and Lux was found dead when Wiley returned to his vehicle.
DOJ says an investigation revealed Wiley repeatedly left Lux confined in his vehicle between the months of June and September in 2022 - at times for as long as eight hours.
In just one hour, daytime temperatures in a parked vehicle can increase by 40 degrees, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association
Wiley faces one count of Assault Against a Law Enforcement Animal - a felony - as well as on count each of Cruelty to Animals an Official Misconduct - both misdemeanors.
He is no longer an employee of the Delaware Department of Correction.
