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SALT LAKE CITY — Over a year after a K-9 officer named Loki was found dead inside a vehicle at the Utah State Correctional Facility, the district attorney's office still has not released any results from the investigation, including details on what exactly happened to the dog.
What happened?
It has been 448 days since Loki, a working K-9, was found dead inside his handler's truck near the kennels at the Utah State Prison on July 13, 2023. Temperatures were in the high 90s that day. Since then, the KSL Investigators have submitted dozens of public records requests to multiple state agencies. All have been denied, citing an ongoing investigation.
While the Utah Department of Corrections has not disclosed exactly what happened to cause the K-9's death, Glen Mills, director of communications and government relations for the Utah Department of Corrections, acknowledged that Loki's death was preventable. "Absolutely. No question about that," Mills said.
The officer's status
Mills confirmed that the officer involved in Loki's death is still employed by the department. The officer was placed on paid leave for nearly four months following Loki's death, costing taxpayers $20,957.30.
While the handler has returned to duty, Mills said he no longer has a K-9 and is not involved in the department's K-9 program. When asked if he would be allowed to have a K-9 in the future, Mills said, "At this point, there is no plan for that."
Mills would not disclose whether the officer was disciplined, citing the ongoing investigation by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.
The cost to taxpayers
The KSL Investigators found the incident has so far cost taxpayers $40,757.30. That includes $20,957.30 for the officer's paid leave and $9,900 each for Loki and his replacement, Max. These figures do not factor in the time the department spent training a new K-9: an eight-week course plus annual recertification.
The estimate also does not include the cost of the K-9 death investigation. This investigation was conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation. The KSL Investigators reached out to the State Bureau of Investigation on Monday for an estimate of its costs but have not received a response.
Changes to the department
Mills said the Utah Department of Corrections has since updated its policies to prevent a similar incident from happening again. The new policies clearly define when a K-9 should be in a car or kennel, establish stricter requirements for K-9 handlers, and include regular inspections on vehicles and equipment to ensure they are functioning properly. Mills said the department also plans to equip all vehicles with alert systems that can notify officers if a vehicle becomes too hot.
"Cost aside, the tragedy here is the loss of a canine officer," said Mills. "We rely on our canine officers to complete our mission here in the Department of Corrections, and they play a key role in it. So, that's the most devastating element to all of this."
The KSL Investigators also reached out to the district attorney's office for comment on why the investigation is taking so long. In a statement, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill wrote, "This is an ongoing investigation. We have requested and received materials as recently as last week from the Utah Department of Corrections. We believe it is the responsibility of this office to be thorough in the investigation of an accident that led to the death of K-9 Officer Loki."
