PARMA, Ohio (AP) — Police have charged an Ohio man who broke a window to rescue two dogs locked in a hot car with criminal damaging.
Richard Hill was in a parking lot in the Cleveland suburb of Parma on Saturday when he saw the dogs and grabbed a hammer from his van to break the car window.
Parma police officers arrived four minutes after receiving a 9-1-1 call about the dogs and two minutes after Hill broke the window.
Police Sgt. Dan Ciryak said he doesn't know why Hill had such a sense of urgency. It was 78 degrees outside that day, according to police.
"We believe his heart may have been in the right place, but he should have waited a little more," Ciryak told Cleveland.com.
The dog's owner, Carly Hartman, returned to the car after spending about 15 minutes in a nearby store. She was not cited.
Hartman told WJW-TV she loves her dogs and "would never put them in danger." She said she can no longer drive her brand new 2018 Audi because of the broken passenger window.
Hill said he didn't know how long it would take for police to arrive to the scene. "I would do it again in a heartbeat," he said.
He plans to fight the charge. He is due in court Aug. 15.