An officer has been removed from duty after shooting and killing a donkey named HeeHaw.
Polk County Police in Georgia were searching for a missing child when a Cedartown police officer, who was assisting, opened fire on the animal as it grazed in its pasture.
Farm owner Hannah Israel said police claimed the donkey ran towards them while braying.
They tried to taser the donkey, thinking they were in danger, before shooting Heehaw.
‘We are heartbroken. He was my son,’ she said of the donkey, who she bottle-raised.
‘HeeHaw was raised in the house and did petting zoos; he never knew a stranger. He was shot and killed in his own pasture for doing what donkeys do. Alerting to a stranger.’
The missing child was later found at a church near the pasture where Heehaw lived.
Police have turned the investigation over to the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement for an independent investigation and put the officer on paid leave.
The sheriff’s office issued a statement reading: ‘We extend our sincere condolences to the family and everyone affected by this unfortunate incident.
‘We understand the concern and sadness surrounding what occurred.’
Cedartown Police Chief Newsome said: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I report a Cedartown police officer shot and killed a donkey that was in its own pasture.
‘I cannot imagine the grief and frustration that the tragic loss of Hee Haw has caused, but I want our community to know what we are doing now.
‘I ask everyone to join us in prayer for everyone who has been impacted by this tragic event but give time for the investigation to be completed.’
Hannah spoke fondly of her beloved pet, saying he slept with her in bed for the first few months of his life.
‘Every time he saw somebody, he would run up and bray, and then do a really goofy sound, and because he loved people, and he thought he was a person,’ she said.
A photo taken after Hannah found Heehaw’s lifeless body showed her sobbing over his body.
She’s started a GoFundMe for legal fees as she looks to lodge a lawsuit against the police department.
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