JACKSON, Miss. — A former Mississippi police officer will face criminal charges in the death of her 3-year-old daughter, who authorities say was left alone in a parked patrol car for four hours last week.

Hancock County Chief Deputy Don Bass said Wednesday that officials plan to charge Cassie Barker with manslaughter as soon as she is released from a hospital, possibly today. It’s unclear if Barker has a lawyer to speak for her. Officials have said she was hospitalized because of the emotional shock of the child’s death.