Every year, hundreds of dogs die in hot vehicles. On a 90 degree day in (the ironically named) Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and Shelly Nicholas’ dog almost became a statistic.
Nicholas claims that she only left the dog for 10 minutes while she, her daughter, and her boyfriend shopped at a Bullocks supermarket. When she returned, police officers were waiting to confront her. What happened next has animal lovers cheering and Nicholas alleging police misconduct.
The officers presented Nicholas with a chart showing the internal temperature of an unventilated vehicle. In less than 10 minutes, the truck was estimated at 114 degrees – a veritable death trap.
Officer Vincent Kreischer was outraged by Nicholas’ nonchalant behavior and insistence that it “wasn’t that hot” inside her truck. In response, Kreischer can be heard telling her:
“You can wait in the truck and close the door – you know, since it’s ‘not that hot.'”
Nicholas later contacted KOB News saying she took Kreischer’s comment as an order and that he was “abusive.” She also filed a complaint with the Truth or Consequences Police Department.
Officer Kreischer captured the details of his encounter with Nicholas via the lapel cam pinned to his uniform. What do you make of their controversial encounter?
In a similar incident, a police officer in Strongsville, Ohio, allegedly made a woman sit in a hot car so she could see what it felt like for her dog. The woman reportedly left the dog in a Nissan Sentra while she shopped at WalMart. When she returned she told the responding officer that the dog was “fine.”
What happened next was captured in the The Strongville Police blotter and published by the Sun News:
“To prove a point, the officer made the woman sit inside of the warm car with the windows up and without the engine on for a few minutes,” the report read. “The woman said she was fine but the officer noted she looked uncomfortable. The woman was advised if she did this again she would be cited.”
Do you think police should have the right to “make the punishment fit the crime” when it comes to life or death situations like dogs in hot cars?
