The Montville Township Police are mourning the loss of one of their own. The K9 Officer, Beny, was left in a police cruiser for four hours with windows up and no air conditioner on.

Sgt. Brett Harrison went into the police station to do paper work and forgot that this partner was in the car. According to the Chief of Police, Sgt. Harrison was in the station from 10:54am to 3:13pm, all while Beny was in the car fighting for his life.

EMS crews at the station were unable to revive the K9, and it died of injuries consistent with a heat stroke.

Since then, Sgt. Harrison has been disciplined by the department. He received two weeks off with no pay and lost 40 hours of accumulated vacation. When the dog was discovered in the unit, it was 79 degrees outside.

The department says that they hope to avoid another tragedy like this, and they will be purchasing a device called "Hot n Pop." This device would allow windows to automatically roll down in K9 units when temperatures reach a certain temperature.

Here is what Sgt. Harrison had to say in regards to this terrible accident:

I want to start by expressing my deepest apology to Montville Township, the Trustees, the citizens, the police department, my fellow officers and to my partner, Beny. I'm sorry to bringing this upon everyone.

I apologize to the trustees and police department for putting you all in this horrible position. I know that it is an unenviable position to have to deal with a situation as sad as this. I'm also sorry for the sadness and grief that you were put into.

Most of all, I want to say I'm sorry to my partner, friend and loving family member Beny. I wish everyday that I could go back and change that day or that I could put myself in your place. You will always be in my heart and I will miss you every second of every day.

I want you all to know that I will never forget any of this. Once again, I am sorry.

Sincerely,
Brett Harrison

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