A baby donkey posed "no threat" to the Georgia police officer who shot and killed him during a search for a missing girl, according to a new lawsuit filed by the animal's owner. Hannah Israel is suing Cedartown Police Officer Trenton Ryan Garner over the August 30 death of HeeHaw, a young miniature donkey she had raised on her property, Elsbery Riding Farm, in Rockmart, Georgia. Officers were searching for a missing 12-year-old girl at the time who was later found safe.
The lawsuit, filed September 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges Garner and other officers entered Israel's enclosed pasture without her permission or a warrant before encountering HeeHaw and shooting him. It describes the donkey as "young, small, and tranquil" and says there was no reason officers should have considered him a threat.
Garner has previously given a different account of what happened that night, saying HeeHaw charged at officers and continued approaching after another officer attempted to frighten him away with a Taser. The shooting prompted widespread attention earlier this month after Israel posted about the killing on social media. Garner was placed on administrative leave while the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Law Enforcement Division investigates the incident.
Newsweek has contacted Cedartown Police and a legal representative for Israel for comment via email and awaits responses. Israel's complaint says police entered her property sometime between about 10:30 p.m. on August 29 and 1 a.m. the following morning while looking for a missing child. Officers were accompanied by police dogs, while Rockmart firefighters were also helping with the search using a drone, according to the lawsuit.
Israel says no officer contacted her before entering the enclosed pasture, asked for permission or had a warrant. The lawsuit also argues there was no emergency that justified entering the land without one. It then alleges Garner encountered HeeHaw and shot him despite the donkey posing no danger to the officers or their dogs.Israel has previously said HeeHaw had been bottle-raised and was comfortable around people, including taking part in petting zoos.
The lawsuit is seeking to hold Garner personally responsible for what Israel says was an unjustified killing of her animal and an unlawful entry onto her property. It argues that her constitutional rights were violated both when officers entered the pasture and when Garner killed HeeHaw. Israel has previously said she would be taking legal action over HeeHaw's death, writing on social media: "HeeHaw was raised in the house and did petting zoos and was shot and killed in his OWN pasture for doing what donkeys do.
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