Justice for HeeHaw.
Outrage is growing after a police officer in Rockmart, Georgia fatally shot a family’s beloved pet miniature donkey named HeeHaw in what the officer claims was self defense.
It all started on August 30 when the Cedartown Police Department officer Trenton Garner, a K-9 unit and a bloodhound team entered the pasture of Ellsbury Riding and Farm while reportedly searching for a missing 12 year old. According to a report from Garner:
“As we were tacking down the fence line, the horses in the pasture spooked and ran back away from us across the pasture.
At this time, K-9 Handler Thomasson stated that there was a donkey on the side of the hill. The donkey then began to charge at us.”
Garner says that the K-9 handler aimed his Taser at the donkey, but that it didn’t work, so that’s when the officer pulled out his gun and shot the 1-year-old pet:
“This in fact did not deter the donkey, so I removed my department-issued Glock 17 from its holster and pointed it at the donkey. I then fired a single round striking the donkey.”
HeeHaw turned around and eventually collapsed before passing away.
The donkey belonged to Hannah Israel, who said she’s raised him since birth – and even bottle fed him as a baby – while denying that the donkey has ever shown any signs of aggression:
“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.”
And she also shared video of the sweet donkey interacting with people:
She also told local news station WXIA that she believes it was the donkey’s friendly nature that caused him to run towards the officers in the first place:
“Every time he saw somebody, he would run up and bray, and they do a really goofy sound, and because he loved people, and he thought he was a person, he slept in my bed for the first three months of his life. I don’t see any reason that he is not here right now.”
Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsom confirmed that there’s body cam footage of the incident, though it hasn’t been released yet (probably because people would be even more angry about it). Garner has been placed on (paid) administrative leave while the incident is under investigation. But many online believe that’s not enough, and that the officer should be fired and face charges for animal cruelty:
Israel has started a GoFundMe to raise money to pursue legal action on behalf of HeeHaw, which so far has raised over $150,000 from people who are outraged by the officer’s actions.
Honestly, it’s hard to feel safe or comfortable with a cop out there who’s threatened by a 1-year-old miniature donkey. Even if he’s “charging,” taking that as a threat that warrants killing somebody’s pet is absolutely ridiculous and makes me worry about this guy’s eagerness to use his gun. There are photos online of Israel holding the donkey in her arms, so if that’s not something you can handle without a gun, chances are you probably don’t need to carry one to begin with.
