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Wyoming Cop Charged in Death of K9 Left in Hot Police Car

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Officer Zachary Miller (Left) Has Been Charged In The Death Of K-9 Drug Detection Dog, Nyx. (Mills Police Department)
Officer Zachary Miller (left) has been charged in the death of K-9 drug detection dog, Nyx. (Mills Police Department)

Wyoming police officer, Zachary Miller was a four-year veteran of the Mills Police Department and a previous Officer of the Year winner when he left his partner, a narcotics-sniffing Black Labrador named Nyx, in the back of his patrol car while he went inside the police department to train another officer.

While temperatures outside the vehicle jumped to the high 80’s, temperatures inside, where Nyx was trapped without fresh air, food, water, or ventilation, soared much higher.

When he returned to his car about 5 hours later, Nyx was dead.

Nyx was, according to the New York Daily News, one of the best narcotics detection dogs the Wyoming law enforcement agency had ever had. He had been working with the force for about 7 years when he was killed.

Miller pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty in Natrona County Circuit Court on Friday, but was released on a $500 bond.

If convicted, he faces up to 6 months in jail or a $750 fine.

The Mills Police Department issued a statement saying that “Officer Miller has been disciplined within the department because of his actions.”

He is currently still employed by the Mills PD. Additionally, the Department has suspended their K-9 program and is reviewing options, including heat detectors inside vehicles to prevent further tragedies.

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13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. Avatar Of Donald

    donald

    says:

    need to handcuff this fool and lock him in the car in the same place as when the police dog died and see how he survives

  2. Avatar Of Eric

    Eric

    says:

    I just started a petition on Care2: Justice for murdered K-9. I’m hoping that if enough people sign my petition, we can make a difference. Right now I’ve got 167 signatures — will you help me collect more by adding your name, and then use the links below to share it on social media?

    Here’s a link to the petition: care2.com/go/z/e/AIXOq

  3. Avatar Of Jason

    Jason

    says:

    If a drug addict was to kill this dog he gets charged with murder of an officer .. How does he get away with animal cruelty ???

  4. Avatar Of Gary

    Gary

    says:

    There is no excuse for this person to still be employed by that or any other police department after doing something so damn, for the lack of a better word, STUPID.

    Let’s just hope he doesn’t have any kids or pets at home.

  5. Avatar Of Barbara Schmidthuber

    Barbara Schmidthuber

    says:

    I am in shock that a trained police officer would do such a thing, I agree that he has killed a fellow officer and derserves stricter sentence. I wonder how he feels any remorse about this….

  6. Avatar Of Ken

    Ken

    says:

    Nyx was actually left in the patrol car for OVER 6 1/2 HRS not 5 as stated in the article. And I wonder exactly what kind of training he was supposed to be doing that did not allow him to return to his patrol car for that length of time? Then he tried to blame his rookie trainee for not leaving the AC on in the car. This “officer” should receive a harsher sentence than a normal criminal does as he killed a fellow officer with his ignorance and STUPIDITY….
    This happened here in my home state just outside of the city where my brother lives

  7. Avatar Of Linda

    Linda

    says:

    He killed a fellow officer NO EXCUSE for what he did

  8. Avatar Of Patricia

    Patricia

    says:

    DONT LEAVE ANIMALS IN HOT CARS!!!! ITS HIS JOB TO HELP ENFORCE AND HE CANT EVEN DO IT HIMSELF??? ARE THEY KIDDING WITH THAT PUNISHMENT?? NYX HAD SENORITY OVER HIM, SURE IT WASNT INTENTIONAL?? NYX DIDNT DESERVE THAT KIND OF TREATMENT, HE DOESNT DESERVE HIS BADGE, POS COP!!! THANKS ALOT JUSTICE SYSTEM, FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF AT ALL COSTS AS USUAL. .

  9. The officer should be punished as though he killed a fellow officer because that is what the dog was. 🙁 Why is such an idiot allowed to still work in a job such as this? How can he be aware and intelligent enough to “Protect and Serve” the people if he can’t even protect his own partner???

    • Avatar Of Carol Burzen

      Carol Burzen

      says:

      I heard about this on line. I have written on face book every night for two weeks, hoping my friends will send this around like the ice bucket challenge for ALS. I cannot wrap my mind around what Officer Miller has done. I love the part when he said he loved his dog so much he took her (the article I saw said her) on family vacations. I called Mills police station and asked how this could happen. A very rude girl said she wasn’t allowed to comment but I could talk to the Chief of Police. Well, he wasn’t in. SURPRISE. I immediately called the Chicago newspaper and asked them to do an article and they said it was old news. They weren’t interested in even talking to me. I want to try to reach 20/20 or the guy who wrote Marley and Me. Someone has to care!!!!!

  10. Avatar Of Bubba Wisdom

    Bubba Wisdom

    says:

    Instead detectors just take the dog with! I don’t give a rats ass what awards he won. Award him 6 months. Don’t worry he won’t be awarded that. Cops can shoot dogs, there life endangered to a dog on a chain. Now what is really excuse, I am a cop. Don’t forget shot for brains.

  11. Avatar Of Kay Stout

    Kay Stout

    says:

    Find it almost incomprehensible that a K9 police officer would be so negligent.

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