SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — After a police officer in Salem County was charged this week in the death of two K-9s, a Gloucester County commissioner has asked why it’s taking so long to investigate a similar case from four years ago.
Sgt. Cody Henderson with the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office faces charges of animal cruelty resulting in death and related offenses after investigators said two K9s died of heat stroke inside his car on May 29. It took about five weeks for the charges to be filed.
Gloucester County Commissioner Chris Konawel noted that was a very similar situation to when K9 Ember died on Aug. 12, 2022 while in the care of Fire Marshal Shawn Layton, though no charges have been filed yet in that case.
“It has to come to a head,” said Konawel. “Whether he’s innocent, or whether he’s guilty, he deserves to be cleared or he deserves to face his day in court.”
Konawel suspected Layton’s personal and political connections to high ranking county officials may have been a reason for slow-walking a half-hearted investigation, as he put it.
“I suspect that nobody has the guts to stand up to it, ultimately,” he said. “We have to make sure that we stay on this. The residents do deserve an answer.”
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office took over the Gloucester County investigation more than three years ago. A spokesperson declined to answer KYW Newsradio’s questions on it, saying the office has had a long standing practice of not providing status updates on investigations or publicly announcing declinations. The state has until Aug. 2029 to file charges.
