Missouri officer, charged in K-9's death, fired from police department

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Savannah, Missouri, police officer charged in the death of a K-9 officer earlier this year has been fired from the police department.

Savannah Police Chief David Vincent said in a closed session meeting on Monday, Sept. 9, the Savannah Board of Alderman voted to terminate employment with Savanah Police Lt. Daniel Zeigler.

Charges were filed Friday in Andrew County against Zeigler who's charged with one count of animal abuse.

The charges were filed by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

According to court documents, on June 20, Zeigler and his K-9 partner Horus completed their overnight shift just before 5 a.m.

Just before 6 p.m. the same day, Zeigler contacted Chief Vincent and informed him Horus was dead.

Vincent determined Horus had been left in the police vehicle following the end of the shift and had died of heat exposure, court records say.

Court documents state the nearest weather reporting location at Kansas City International Airport, reported a high of 88 degrees at 5:53 p.m. on June 20.

One witness described seeing the deceased K-9 officer in the yard near the police vehicle that evening and described Zeigler “flipping out” and yelling in disbelief that he thought he had brought the K-9 in at the end of his shift, according to court document.

A second witness described assisting in the burial of Horus later on June 20 and stated during the burial he heard Zeigler tell Vincent that Horus’ death was his (Zeigler’s) fault.

Court documents say on June 26, a functionality test was performed on the police vehicle that was operated by Zeigler on June 20. As part of the test, the vehicle was parked outside in direct sunlight with the ignition turned off. When the internal temperature reached 90 degrees, the vehicle began to honk repeatedly, rolled down the rear windows and activated a fan.

The test was to demonstrate the AceK9 system inside the police vehicle was in working order and would have had to been manually turned off/deactivated on June 20, contributing to the death of Horus by removing a safeguard to prevent such an incident, court documents say.

The Savannah Police Department held a memorial service on Saturday, Sept. 7, for Horus.

Since K-9 Horus’ death, the community of Savannah and many others have been expressing their outrage and seeking justice for the loss of the young German Shepherd’s life on social media.

Many community members shared frustration after Horus was originally buried with no marker and created a makeshift memorial at the burial site.

An anonymous donor purchased a permanent headstone that was placed at the burial site last month.

A bill was recently signed by Gov. Mike Parson called Max’s Law. It was created after a St. Joseph K-9 was killed in the line of duty in 2021 and would increase penalties for injuring and killing animals in law enforcement.

It states that if a law enforcement animal is assaulted and dies, the person responsible could face a Class D Felony charge in the state of Missouri.

A Class D Felony is the second-lowest class of felonies in the state and could lead to a prison sentence of no more than seven years, one year in a county jail or a court-imposed fine of up to $10,000.