State makes it legal to break into a hot car to save lives

Friday, March 18, 2016, 6:06 PM - Florida Gov. Rick Scott has passed a bill making it legal to break into a locked vehicle to save people or hot or dogs that appear to be in distress.

The bill went into effect Tuesday, making Florida the seventeenth U.S. state that prohibits keeping animals in hot, unattended cars.

Good Samaritans will not be charged for breaking a vehicle to save a person or animal if they have:

• Checked to make sure the vehicle is actually locked
• Have a reasonable belief that entering into the vehicle is necessary because the victim is in imminent danger
• Contacted 911 or a law enforcement official before or immediately after breaking into the vehicle
• Used only the necessary amount of force to break in
• Remained with the victim until first-responders arrive

In Canada, people who leave animals unattended in a car in a manner that risks their health and safety could be charged under a provincial SPCA act and under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Penalties include possible jail time, a lifetime ban against owning animals and up to $60,000 in fines.

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