K-9 Cop Charged After Two Department Dogs Die in Hot Car

A New Jersey officer in charge of the K-9 unit has been charged with animal cruelty ... after he allegedly left two department dogs to die in a hot car.

Cody L. Henderson of the Salem County Sheriff’s Office was arrested Tuesday and charged with recklessly causing the death of Boomer, a 6-year-old springer spaniel, and Rip, a 4-year-old Belgian malinois, according to NJ.com.

Both dogs were left in the same cruiser May 29 ... allegedly for seven hours in the beating sun ... with the engine off, no windows cracked, while Henderson worked the courthouse. He is accused of ignoring the dogs until the end of the day, when he discovered them dead of heat stroke.

Henderson -- who's been suspended pending the outcome of his court case -- has been slapped with a slew of animal cruelty charges, including two third-degree counts of purposefully, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to a living animal by failing to provide necessary care, resulting in death.