Officer arrested in canine's death

Maricopa County sheriff’s investigators have determined a Chandler police officer was reckless when he left his police K-9 in his patrol vehicle for 13 hours, causing the dog to die.

On Wednesday, Sgt. Tom Lovejoy was arrested for animal cruelty.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said it remains unclear why Lovejoy left Bandit, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, in the vehicle Aug. 11. Arpaio said he believes the officer has suffered from the loss, but must be treated like anyone else and face the misdemeanor charge.

Arpaio announced the arrest in a news conference, stating that the decision was difficult and calling it “a sad situation.”

Lovejoy, the 39-year-old supervisor of the Chandler K-9 unit, was booked into an east Mesa jail. His status late Wednesday was not immediately available.

Conviction of animal cruelty is punishable by a maximum term of six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Chandler police Chief Sherry Kiyler kept her comments brief Wednesday.

“As a department, we respect and support the criminal justice systems and processes in place,” said Kiyler in a written statement. “We remain saddened by the loss of K9 Bandit.”

The department refused to comment further.

The Chandler police is continuing an internal investigation into Bandit’s death to determine if Lovejoy violated any department policies.

Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn would not say whether he thinks it’s appropriate for the sheriff’s office to charge Lovejoy. But, he did say it was more of a “personnel matter.”

“I do think that our investigation is more appropriate and will get into the facts a little better,” Dunn said.

Former Chandler police officer and current City Councilman Lowell Huggins called the arrest “ridiculous,” saying Lovejoy should have been cited with a misdemeanor and let go.

“I actually like Joe, but this seems like it’s a publicity stunt to grab headlines,” Huggins said.

Arpaio said anyone who violates the animal cruelty law is susceptible to arrest and jail time.

Three days after Bandit died and after Chandler police said there would be no criminal investigation, the sheriff’s office began to look into Bandit’s death which occurred on a Chandler county island.

Investigators searched computers, cell phone records and talked to Lovejoy, Arpaio said.

They determined that after working an extra assignment Lovejoy had returned to his home at 9 a.m. and left Bandit in his police sport utility vehicle parked outside.

At 9:40 a.m., he left the home with his daughter in his personal vehicle. After 15 minutes he received a call that his son was in a wreck and suffered minor injuries. He headed to Gilbert to make sure everything was OK, but by 10:10 a.m. was returning home.

Lovejoy also took a nap and dined out with his wife that evening, Arpaio said. It wasn’t until 10:10 p.m. that he headed to the police SUV and found Bandit dead.

“How any dog owner could forget about a dog for 13 whole hours is the most puzzling and most troubling part of this case,” Arpaio said.

Bandit’s death presented the first blemish on Lovejoy’s police department record which showed he had received numerous commendations from officers and the public in his 16-year career.