No charges for ACSO deputy in K-9 death

No criminal charges will be filed against an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputy whose police dog died of heat exhaustion.

The deputy left the dog inside his patrol car last month, ACSO announced Wednesday.

After consulting with the State Attorney’s Office, an ACSO detective ruled Thomas Wilcox did not have any criminal intent when he left his dog, Robbie, 6, inside a hot patrol car on July 8, according to an offense report.

Now the department’s Office of Professional Standards will conduct an administrative internal investigation to determine if any policies were violated, said Lt. Brandon Kutner, an ACSO spokesman. The results will go to Sheriff Sadie Darnell.

“At the conclusion of that investigation, that will be filed up the chain of command,” Kutner said.

Possible penalties include a reprimand, time without pay or removal from the K-9 unit, he said. He said he didn’t know when the investigation will be finished.

Willcox, 41, has temporarily been assigned to work with other officers the department’s training division, Kutner said.

On the day Robbie died, temperatures outside Wilcox’s home in Newberry, Florida, reached 96 degrees, according to the report.

Willcox, who was on vacation locally, had taken a break from a fishing trip to respond to a SWAT call earlier that day before returning to the trip, according to the report.

Wilcox’s father told deputies he didn’t see Robbie in the yard when he stopped by at about 4 p.m. that day.

The father found Robbie, a Belgian Malinois, at about 5 p.m. and tried to spray him with a hose to cool him off.

When deputies arrived at 9:18 p.m. to investigate the dog’s death, Willcox sat in a chair next to a kennel with a sheet over it.

“It appeared as if (Wilcox) had likely been weeping heavily,” according to the report.

While Willcox lacked motive to kill or injure Robbie, he contributed to Robbie’s death by leaving him in the hot car, according to the report.

While in some instances, K-9 units are considered officers, such as with assault on a K-9, “in this case this law is not applicable,” Kutner said.