Hialeah Cop Kills Police Dogs After Leaving Them In Car All Day, But New Details May Offer Explanation


A Hialeah cop who left two dogs inside his police cruiser all day may have an excuse that explains the animals’ tragic deaths, police said on Thursday.

Officer Nelson Enriquez, a trained K-9 officer, left two police dogs in his SUV when he returned home from a shift early on Wednesday. By the time he returned to the vehicle at approximately 7 p.m. both the animals were dead.

Now new details are emerging in the case, with a police sergeant saying that Enriquez had worked a longer-than-usual shift before returning home and had been working on a missing person case.

Hialeah police added that the cop was devastated to find the dogs dead. The dogs, a 7-year-old bloodhound named Jimmy and a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Hector, lived with Enriquez at his home.

The dogs were well taken care of and loved by Enriquez, police said. The officer even posted pictures on Facebook showing him swimming with the dogs in a backyard pool.

“This officer Enriquez lives in a wonderful home in Davie,” said Hialeah Police Sgt. Carl Zogby. “He’s got a big backyard, he’s got two beautiful kennels in his backyard and he definitely loves and pampers his dogs. They do and can live in the house. He can put them in the kennel when the weather’s right, but no, they lived in the house with the officer. They’re full members of the family. In fact, I’m hearing his children wouldn’t go to sleep if the dogs weren’t in the house.”

The loss has also been difficult for the Hialeah police department. Jimmy was the only bloodhound on the force, given to them by the Jimmy Ryce Foundation.

Hialeah police said the foundation will work to help get them another bloodhound in the future.

“The Jimmy Ryce Center donated Jimmy, the bloodhound, to the Hialeah Police Department seven years ago,” said Don Ryce, head of the foundation. “Our mission is stronger than ever, and with the public’s help, we hope to be able to raise funds to replace these dogs.”

While police implied that Enriquez may have been tired after his long shift and simply forgotten about the dogs, some local residents were outraged and didn’t accept the explanation. Some called on police to arrest the office and charge him with animal abuse.

Investigators have not yet said if Hialeah cop Nelson Enriquez will be charged for the death of the dogs.

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