Georgia Officer Placed on Leave After Pet Donkey Is Shot During Search

A Georgia police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a family’s pet donkey was shot and killed during an overnight search on the owners’ property, according to reporting by The Guardian and local media cited in its account. The donkey, a small male named HeeHaw, was killed at Elsberry farm in Rockmart at about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday. The animal’s owner, Hannah Israel, said officers entered the pasture without notifying the family or obtaining permission while reportedly searching for a missing person. Israel said HeeHaw approached the officers while braying and that one officer shot him after claiming to feel threatened. She also said officers tried to use a Taser before the shooting. Those details came from Israel’s account and had not been independently confirmed in the supplied reporting. Jamie Newsome, chief of the Cedartown Police Department, told local media that an officer had been placed on leave and that an inquiry was in progress. The officer was not identified. The Polk County sheriff’s office said its own officers were not involved, but said law enforcement personnel from Polk County and Cedartown were at the scene. The office expressed sympathy to the family and others affected by what it described as an unfortunate incident. As of Monday, the Cedartown police department, the city government and the Polk County police department had not provided an official response to requests for comment, according to The Guardian’s report. The lack of a broader public statement prompted criticism on social media. Israel described HeeHaw as bottle-raised, accustomed to people and used in petting zoos. She launched an online fundraiser to support potential legal action, and the appeal had reportedly exceeded $35,000 by Monday morning. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain subject to the police investigation. No finding about whether the officer’s use of force was justified was included in the supplied source material.