CALGARY — A Georgia family is demanding answers after a police officer shot and killed their beloved pet donkey during an overnight search for a missing child, prompting a state investigation and the officer’s placement on paid administrative leave.The donkey, named HeeHaw, was killed early Sunday morning at Elsberry Riding and Farm in Polk County, Georgia.According to the Cedartown Police Department, one of its officers was assisting Polk County Police with a nighttime search for a missing child when the incident occurred.“The Cedartown Police Department is aware that a city police officer shot and killed a donkey in the early hours of Sunday morning,” the department said in a statement."I cannot imagine the grief and frustration that the tragic loss of HeeHaw has caused,''Police said the child had not yet been located when the shooting occurred. The child was later found safe at a church near the pasture where HeeHaw was killed..The Cedartown Police Department said it has turned the investigation over to the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement Division and placed the officer on paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.“Because of the nature of this investigation, neither the Cedartown Police Department nor any other city department can comment further on the matter at this time,” the department said.Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsom has confirmed that body-camera footage from the incident exists and that he has watched it, but he has declined to publicly discuss what the footage shows while the investigation continues.HeeHaw’s owner, Hannah Israel, said the donkey was ''more than livestock to her family.''Israel told Atlanta News First that she bottle-raised HeeHaw from birth inside her home. She said the donkey later participated in petting zoos at the farm and mobile petting zoos around the community and described him as friendly and accustomed to people..“He was my kid,” Israel said. Israel has hired an attorney and indicated that the family is considering legal action.According to the family’s account, officers entered the pasture at approximately 12:45 a.m. while searching for the missing child.The family alleges that HeeHaw approached the officers while braying. Israel said officers told the family they attempted to use a Taser before the donkey was shot because an officer believed he was a threat.The Polk County Sheriff's Office has also clarified that its deputies were not involved in the shooting, although officers from Polk County Police and Cedartown Police were involved in the search.Authorities have not identified the officer involved or publicly explained what specific behaviour by HeeHaw led the officer to use deadly force.
