Questioned by investigators, K-9 handler says vehicle shut down before dog’s death

2303
MPD Officer Craig Curry, whose K-9 partner Ike, died after being left in a patrol vehicle in 2020, has appealed hiss termination from the force. An appeal hearing is ongoing.

Twelve days after Maricopa Police K-9 Ike died of heat stroke, his handler, Officer Craig Curry, gave a voluntary interview to Arizona Department of Public Safety investigators.

DPS Detective Kenneth Ellis of the Special Investigations Unit led the questioning of the 13-year veteran, which lasted about an hour. Curry has been a K-9 officer for the past eight years, always with Ike.

Ike was a 9-year-old Dutch shepherd, a working breed the American Kennel Club describes as intelligent, lively and athletic but very independent-minded.

MORE about Ike and the K9 program

Ike was euthanized early in the morning of June 27 after being locked in a vehicle for more than an hour and a half in the summer heat of the previous afternoon.

Pinal County Attorney’s Office declined to pursue charges in the dog’s death.

In the July 9 interview, Curry was accompanied by his attorney, Chad Smith of the Yen Pilch & Landeen firm in Phoenix. Ellis questioned Curry about his training and history with Ike. MPD purchased the dog from Adlerhorst International in California in 2013. Ike was 18 months old at the time and had been imported from Holland.

Curry bonded with Ike for several weeks before going into formal K-9 training in Tucson through the Department of Corrections. Curry learned Dutch commands, and both were certified in patrol and narcotics.

On the job, Ike was generally kept in the kennel in the Ford F150, MPD vehicle 492, unless activated for a work assignment. At home for the first three years, Ike was kept in a carrier when he wasn’t in the backyard.

Curry told the investigators that for the past five years Ike was domesticated enough to have free run of the entire house. He said his stepdaughter was part of the prep routine, cleaning off Ike’s face “to make him look good for work.”

‘IT’S A LOT HOTTER INSIDE’

Curry and Ike were scheduled to work June 26 from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Curry said he and MPD’s other K-9 handler, Officer Jake Gomez, had just shifted to overnight patrols because of the heat.

“The paws on those hot surfaces were just … where we [had] traffic stops, and you’re trying to get your dog to smell a toy when his feet is warm is not the best,” he said, according to a transcript. “You’re finding nothing, pretty much, but you’re exposing a dog to a lot more.”

Curry told Ellis he was wearing his standard K-9 uniform that day. His vest and duty belt were in his vehicle.

Curry explained he came to the main station early that day to talk with Cmdr. Michael Campbell about retiring Ike and the process of getting a new dog for the department. He told Ellis the reasons for retiring a K-9 are the same as retiring a human officer.

“The type of stress and type of physical expectations we have for the dog, once a dog starts to get to 8, 9 and 10, he can do it, but how long is he taking to recover? Is he sore for days afterwards?” Curry said. “That’s the stuff you start to look at… So it was that time for [Ike]. He was definitely taking longer to recover, and we were trying to transition and phase him out of the program.”

Curry told Ellis he arrived at the station around 3 p.m. for the meeting with Campbell. He left his vest and duty belt in the vehicle “because I didn’t want to sweat.” Ike was in his special K-9 kennel in the rear of the vehicle.

The vehicle is equipped with a heat-alarm system, AceK9 Hot-N-Pop. In his interview with detectives, Curry explained how the system is supposed to work – sensing an overheating situation, rolling down the back windows, initiating a fan and setting off a siren and external lights.

“One thing is, you have to get vented, because outside temperature is not reality of what’s inside there,” Curry told Ellis. “It’s a lot hotter inside.”

That day, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the temperature when Curry arrived at the station was about 108 F. According to a Stanford University study, the interior of a vehicle sitting in 108-degree heat can rise to 142 degrees within half an hour.

Curry said the AceK9 system was set up to go on and off with the ignition of the vehicle. He also said he uses a “snooze feature” that allows him to start a hot vehicle and give it time to cool down without the alarm system going off before he brings in the dog.

‘I DIDN’T HEAR MY CAR RUNNING’

He told Ellis there had been no issues with the heat-warning system, but there had been mechanical issues with the vehicle, idling and losing power when making turns. The vehicle had received maintenance in May and an oil change in June.

Curry said there had not been a problem since the maintenance. The Friday of the incident, he parked in a handicap stall south of the station and went in to meet with Campbell.

From the transcript:
Q: And Ike is still in his kennel?
A: He’s in his kennel, yeah.
Q: OK. And did you leave the car running?
A: Um, yes, of course.
Q: OK. So, the key’s in the on position, running? Is the AC going?
A: I got the AC going and the car running.

Curry said that when he arrived Campbell was busy, apparently in a meeting with Chief Steve Stahl, and their K-9 meeting did not start until around 3:30 p.m.

Curry said they took a break around 4:40 p.m. as Campbell went to get something in his office. Curry said he went outside to check on Ike. He headed first for the “back lot,” the gated area to the east of the building – it was closed that day for pavement maintenance – before realizing he had parked “in the front,” in the south parking lot.

“So, I go out through the back door to the parking lot, and I have to run back around to the front, because he’s in the front. He’s not in the back like I thought he was.”

“As I got to the car, I didn’t hear my car running,” Curry told detectives. “So, I don’t know if I opened up that passenger side first and looked in or went over to the driver side. Um, opened the door. Ike was down. He was breathing. Uh, his head was facing me. ‘Ike – Ike.’ He’s breathing deep – deep. I observed his tongue is out. His eyes are glossy, which is all signs of heat stress.”

Twice, Curry told Ellis all the windows were up on the vehicle as he approached.

Curry said he then tried to start the vehicle three times.

The first time it just clicked, he recalled. The second time the dashboard lit up and he heard a chirp from the alarm system, but it died again. The third time, the same thing happened.

He said he ran back into the station, which is captured on surveillance video, and called for officers to help him.

Officers tried to cool down the dog, first with a hose, but the water was too warm, then with ice from the station’s ice machine.

‘IN SHOCK AND UNABLE TO RESPOND’

In his statement to investigators, Curry’s supervisor, Sgt. Kevin Mellor, said, “Curry appeared to be in shock and unable to respond to questions asked other than he needed help.”

Ike was transported to Maricopa Wells Veterinary Hospital, where he was cooled down for another 20 minutes before being transferred to an emergency animal hospital in Gilbert.

“Because of COVID-19, we weren’t really able to stay,” Curry told Ellis. “From that point, it was just pretty much hand over the dog and wait for updates and so forth.”

Curry was called to the hospital early in the morning and was present for the euthanasia of Ike.

Under further questioning, Curry said the heat-alarm system comes with a pager that vibrates when the alarm engages. When he is on duty, he said, he usually wore it on his vest but was going to transition it to his duty belt. During the meeting, the pager was left in the vehicle. Investigators found the pager in the driver’s door, with dead batteries. It worked when fitted with new batteries.

When Smith, Curry’s legal counsel, asked Curry if he remembered if it felt hotter inside or outside the car when he found Ike in distress, Curry said he could not answer the question.

“I’ll be honest with you, when you see your dog’s in there panting, all feelings and numbness inside hits pretty hard,” he responded.

“I can’t recall whether it was hot. And I know you asked early, but my mind – ‘cause I was only thinkin’, ‘Holy s—t.’ And when you see that the stress, which (unintelligible) I was left-handed. I’m mean, I’m right-handed but I don’t know the details of that heat. So, I’m not gonna be able to answer that. I’m sorry.”