ZANESVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Muskingum County sheriff's detective has been charged with the death of a department K-9 officer.

Sheriff's detective Matt Wilhite, 44, is facing a first-degree misdemeanor cruelty to animals charge for the heat-related death of his K-9 officer, Cooper, on Sept. 5, according to Muskingum County Prosecutor Ron Welch.

In a video posted online, Welch said Cooper was left inside Wilhite's unmarked police vehicle for several hours. According to Welch, Wilhite believed he had left the car running with the air conditioner on; however, due to the cooler temperatures that morning, Wilhite had actually left the defogger on, blowing warmer air, and not the air conditioner. Wilhite also didn't have a device that monitored the temperature inside the car because it wasn't

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