Bodycam footage from a Georgia police officer shows the tragic shooting of a one-year-old donkey named HeeHaw. The animal was killed as it approached officers who were searching for a missing 12-year-old girl in a field.
Released by the Cedartown Police Department, the footage captures the moment HeeHaw, who was quite small compared to the officers, was shot. Officer Trenton Garner can be heard reporting to dispatch that “a firearm was discharged at a donkey” that was allegedly trying to attack them.
The video depicts HeeHaw walking towards the officers in a pasture at the Elsberry Riding and Farm ranch in Rockmart, Georgia, shortly after midnight on October 4. As HeeHaw neared one of the officers, that officer deployed a Taser, which, according to Garner’s report, didn’t work. From about ten yards away, Officer Garner then shot HeeHaw with a Glock 17.
After being shot, the donkey ran away but soon collapsed and was later found dead from the wound. Garner noted in his report that while a K-9 unit and bloodhound team were present to assist in the search for the girl, HeeHaw was the only animal that supposedly charged at them.
Hannah Israel, the donkey’s owner, expressed her grief over HeeHaw’s death and contested Garner’s version of events. “HeeHaw thought people were his family, and HeeHaw was family,” she shared in a statement to a local news outlet.
Following the release of the bodycam footage, Israel mentioned that HeeHaw was simply trying to greet the officers, countering the narrative that he posed any threat. She expressed her heartbreak online, stating, “Cops entered my pasture searching for a missing person WITHOUT permission or warning and shot and killed my bottle-raised BABY donkey.” She also announced plans to pursue legal action, emphasizing the deep connection she felt, referring to HeeHaw as her “son.”
Israel runs the farm where HeeHaw was part of the petting zoo. In light of the incident, Officer Garner has been placed on administrative leave, while the Georgia Department of Agriculture is currently investigating the matter.
As of now, neither Hannah Israel nor the Cedartown Police Department has provided further comments.
