Sheriff Matthew Lutz shares internal findings regarding the death of K-9 Cooper

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office announced the death of K-9 Cooper last month and on Wednesday they released the internal findings of their investigation.

Sheriff Matthew Lutz announced that Detective Sergeant Matt Wilhite violated several policies leading to the loss of Cooper. Wilhite had left Cooper in his unmarked car for several hours which lead to the K-9’s death by heat exhaustion.

“Detective Wilhite had left the car running, believing the air conditioning was on, but due to the cooler morning, the car was actually in defogging mode with warmer air,” Lutz said. “Detective Wilhite also failed to maintain the operation of the temperature monitor that could have prevented this loss. ”

Due to Wilhites violations on Sept. 5, he will be given a 10-day unpaid suspension, will be demoted from Detective Sergeant to Detective, and will no longer be eligible to be a K-9 handler for the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office.

“Detective Wilhite has given nearly 25 years of loyal service to the Sheriff’s office. He’s touched many lives here. He’s broken by this loss, has owned up to his error with honesty, and is carrying this burden deeply,” Lutz said. “Deputies face tough challenges every day and this shows we’re human too.”

The internal findings were given to the Muskingum County Prosecutors Office to determine if any charges need to be brought forward. Wilhite is on paid administrative leave pending the results of the prosecutors findings. His unpaid suspension will take affect after he is taken off of administrative leave.