In loving memory of Police K-9 Nitro

Stockton Police Department

End of Watch: 6/30/2015

Stockton Police Department K-9 Nitro died of natural causes while on duty on June 30.

Nitro had just apprehended a fleeing warrant suspect and returned to his police car at around 4 P.M.. His handler locked Nitro in the police car and returned to assist other officers processing the suspect and dealing with a crowd that was gathering. According to reports, the National Weather Service recorded Stockton’s daytime high temperature as106 degrees Fahrenheit.

When he returned about 15 minutes later, Nitro’s handler discovered that the patrol car’s air conditioning was not working and that Nitro was in distress.

Rushed to a nearby veterinary clinic, Nitro could not recover from heat injuries.

Nitro had survived being struck by a man armed with a claw hammer during an attempted apprehension in January 2015.