Months after the hot car death of his K9 dog, an Arizona policeman received a 20-hour suspension for numerous alleged violations of the department's code of conduct.
Reports out of the area, including those from KNXV, InMaricopa.com, and AZFamily.com, confirm the disciplinary actions taken by the Maricopa Police Department against Officer Craig Curry.
Back on June 27, 2020, Curry's K9 partner — a Belgian Malinois named Ike — was euthanized due to complications caused by heatstroke.
The day before, when temperatures in the area hit 108 degrees, Ike spent nearly two hours in the back of Curry's patrol car as the officer attended a meeting at police headquarters.
Department policy mandates that K9 officers be checked on every 30 minutes.
When Curry returned to his vehicle, which he said he'd left running with air the conditioning on, he realized the car had shut off. He went to check on Ike, finding the dog panting heavily with glossy eyes. Unable to start his patrol car, Curry called to other officers for help in cooling the dog down.
K9 Ike had served with the Maricopa Police Department for 11 years.
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The findings of an internal investigation showed Ike's death was avoidable, according to the reports.
Curry allegedly failed to maintain an alert system in his vehicle, which would have warned about the rising temperatures inside.
Additionally, the findings showed Curry allegedly could have parked his car in a shady area. He also allegedly could have brought Ike with him to the meeting.
PEOPLE's attempts to reach Curry for comment were unsuccessful Thursday.
Prosecutors have declined to file criminal charges against Curry.
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