SLCo DA Declines to File Charges for Death of DOC K9 Loki

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced the results of the investigation into the death of police service dog Loki inside a Department of Corrections (DOC) K9 Unit vehicle at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City on July 13, 2023. After a thorough analysis of the relevant evidence and facts related to the death of Loki, K9 Officer Jacob Lee Naccarato's service dog, the Salt Lake County District Attorney declines to file charges against Officer Naccarato.

The facts of the analysis are laid out in the attached declination letter. In summary, on July 13, 2023, at 2:39 p.m., K9 Officers Naccarato and Gappmayer and K9 Loki were deployed to a warehouse search at the prison. They left the K9 Kennel building in a DOC Ford Interceptor equipped for K9 operations. The officers utilized Loki to search the warehouse. At 3:02 p.m., Officer Naccarato stored Loki in the running Interceptor and then returned inside the warehouse without him. At 3:12 p.m., they returned to the Kennel building, parked the Interceptor, turned it off, and went inside—without Loki. The officers then left the Kennel building on foot.  At 3:32 p.m., Officers Naccarato and Gappmayer returned to the Kennel building after being alerted to an incident that later resolved itself. At 3:44 p.m., Officers Naccarato, Gappmayer, and K9 Sgt. Waters left in a different vehicle to search for a missing tool; they later returned at 6:30 p.m. At 6:44 p.m., Officer Naccarato went to retrieve Loki from his indoor kennel, only to find him still in the Interceptor, deceased. A necropsy revealed Loki likely died of heatstroke, with temperatures that day reaching 96°F to 97°F and the vehicle parked in an unshaded area.

We determined that the DOC K9 vehicle had a K9 heat alert system installed, which was set up to provide real-time temperature monitoring from sensors inside the vehicle and had a programmable heat alert function. However, the "Heat Alert" function was turned "OFF." We learned that, at the time, the K9 Unit primarily used the heat alert system as a heat monitoring system and that the K9 Unit was not trained on or using the system's heat alert function. If the "Heat Alert" function is turned "ON," with the vehicle turned both on and off, the system functions so when the temperature hits 85 degrees, a heat alert is triggered, the passenger/kennel window drops, the AUX fan turned on; when the vehicle was turned off, the ignition also engaged, starting the engine fully.

In a legal analysis of possible offenses Officer Naccarato could be charged with, this office evaluated the elements of the offenses of cruelty to an animal both in state and city code. The elements of those codes that must be considered are whether Officer Naccarato acted recklessly or with criminal negligence. For us to conclude that he acted recklessly, he would need to have been consciously aware of the risk of keeping Loki in the vehicle and disregarded it. Officer Naccarato going to get Loki from his kennel instead of the vehicle where he was left indicates that the officer believed Loki to be in his kennel; he, therefore, could not have consciously disregarded the risk because he had forgotten he was in the vehicle. The second element that must be considered is whether Officer Naccarato was criminally negligent. Under Utah law, “[o]rdinary negligence ... is not sufficient to constitute criminal negligence.” State v. Larsen, 2000 UT App 106, ¶ 18 (quotations and citation omitted). Further, "'[m]ere inattention or mistake in judgment resulting even in the death of another is not criminal unless the quality of the act makes it so.'" Id. (quoting State v. Warden, 784 P.2d 1204, 1207 (Utah Ct.App.1989)). Based on the facts before us, we believe that the death of Loki was a profoundly unfortunate accident but that it does not rise to the level of criminal negligence.

The investigation into the death of K9 Loki included interviews of K9 Sgt. Jacob Waters and K9 Officer Gappmayer—two of the three members of the DOC K9 Unit at the time. Officer Naccarato declined to be interviewed, as is his Fifth Amendment right.   During the review of the investigation, this office obtained and reviewed physical evidence documenting the events surrounding the incident, including but not limited to hours of surveillance footage from the prison, photographs from the incident, as well as additional images provided by the DOC in the fall of 2024, and the system manual for the installed K9 heat alert system.   The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office also requested a physical examination of the Interceptor as well as the installed K9 heat alert system in the spring of 2024. Additionally, we obtained and reviewed DOC K9 policies and protocols from the time of K9 Loki’s death, as well as updated policies and protocols; and interviewed K9 Officer Gappmayer a second time. 

Lastly, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge that the Department of Corrections has been forthcoming and responsive during the investigation. Though this was a preventable tragedy, they have shared with us policy changes to prevent a future tragedy like this from taking place.