A police officer in the US state of Georgia has been placed on leave after a family’s young pet donkey, HeeHaw, was shot and killed in his own garden.
The shooting happened early on Sunday morning in Rockmart, Georgia, in the United States. Police officers were searching the area when they entered a terrain belonging to Hannah Israel and her family.
At around 12.45am, they came across HeeHaw. The officers said they felt threatened, according to Israel. They first tried to use a taser on HeeHaw. An officer then shot and killed him.
“I am still completely heartbroken and traumatized by the loss of my beautiful HeeHaw. He wasn’t “just a donkey.” He was a baby I bottle-raised, loved, and cared for every single day,” Israel said in a Facebook post.
Israel believes HeeHaw was simply doing what donkeys naturally do when strangers enter their territory: making noise to warn others.
Shooting is being investigated
Israel said the officers entered the family’s property without notifying them or asking for permission. They were searching for a missing child, who was later found at a church. Exactly what happened in the moments before HeeHaw was shot has not yet been independently established.
Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome confirmed that the shooting is now being investigated. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave while that investigation takes place.
Authorities have not yet explained why the officer believed the young donkey presented enough danger to justify shooting him.
Israel plans to take legal action over his death.
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