Arabic version: وضع شرطي في جورجيا في إجازة بعد إطلاق النار على حمار صغير
According to The Guardian, a Georgia police officer was placed on leave after a family’s pet baby donkey, HeeHaw, was shot and killed during an early-morning search for a missing person on property in Rockmart.
Hannah Israel, the animal’s owner, said officers entered her pasture at Elsberry farm at about 12.45am on Sunday without notification or permission. In a Facebook post, she said the small male donkey came out braying when he encountered strangers and was killed by an officer who said he felt threatened.
Israel wrote that officers claimed they tried to use a Taser before shooting HeeHaw. She said the donkey had been raised in the house, took part in petting zoos and “never knew a stranger.” Israel described him as her son and said he was killed in his own pasture while alerting to unfamiliar people.
Jamie Newsome, Cedartown’s police chief, told local media that the officer had been put on leave and an inquiry was under way. Coosa Valley News reported that the unidentified officer was on administrative leave while the department’s command staff investigated the shooting.
The Polk county sheriff’s office said its officers were not involved, while stating that personnel from the separate Polk county and Cedartown police departments were present. It offered condolences to the family and those affected. Israel also launched an online fundraising appeal for legal action that surpassed $35,000, while the city, Cedartown police department and Polk county police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
