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Georgia officer faces no criminal charges over fatal donkey shooting
A Georgia police officer will not face criminal charges for fatally shooting HeeHaw, a one-year-old miniature donkey, at a farm in Cedartown. The decision closes the criminal case for now, but the donkey’s owner says she will continue a civil lawsuit, arguing the shooting was unjustified.
Officer Trenton Garner said he fired after a K-9 handler tried to deter the donkey with a Taser and it continued charging. The officers were searching for a missing 12-year-old girl on 29 August when they entered the farm’s pasture. The owner’s lawyer says she has not received official documents confirming the decision; a fundraiser for the farm and animal care raised more than $100,000.
In short
- Georgia police officer cleared of criminal charges over HeeHaw’s death.
- Owner’s legal team says it will continue its civil lawsuit.
- The donkey was shot during a search for a missing child.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The officer’s strongest defence is that he faced an animal that kept charging after a Taser was used, while officers were urgently searching for a missing child. If he reasonably believed the donkey posed an immediate threat and there was no safe way to stop it, firing could be seen as a proportionate response under pressure, rather than an unjustified use of force.
The case against
The owner’s strongest case is that a donkey was shot dead on private farm land during a search, and the reported account leaves questions about whether officers could have avoided the pasture or used safer alternatives. The owner is entitled to seek a civil review of whether the shooting was necessary and justified, especially as she says she has not received official documents explaining the decision.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Georgia cop won’t be charged for shooting and killing baby donkey named HeeHaw after friendly animal ran toward him at farm”.