California K-9 dies in police car, results show heat was cause of death

LONG BEACH, CA (KRON) — A Long Beach K-9 has died, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

“Ozzy” was in the officer’s K-9 car when he died.

He and his handler were both off-duty during the incident.

Police say the death wasn’t intentional.

“We believe this was an accident and we are taking all the necessary steps to avoid this from happening in the future.”

According to officials, the K-9 cars have fail/safe equipment that is supposed to send out alerts. The department believes the alert system was not working at the time.

A veterinarian examination determined the cause of death to be heat-related.