The officer filmed deliberately driving a police car into a cow twice should “lose his job” over the “disgusting” incident, the farmer’s partner told Sky News.
The animal, a 10-month-old breeding heifer named Beau Lucy, has no broken bones and is recovering in a barn with other calves, but could still die from shock, she said.
Home Secretary James Cleverly asked for a “complete and urgent explanation” after a video of the incident in Staines-upon-Thames on Friday night was shared widely on social media.
Surrey Police said the decision was made to detain the loose animal “using a police car” after officers “tried a number of options to safely capture the cow” over a period of hours and became “extremely concerned about the cow’s safety.” of the public.”
But Kate, a partner of the farmer who owned the cow, called the footage “horrific” and said: “It looked like they tried to kill her.”
“Honestly, when I saw the video, I thought he should lose his job. I just thought it was disgusting, I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
“I don’t know if it was his decision to attack the animal or if he was instructed to do so, but the police, when they got out of the car, seemed quite agitated.”
The video shows the cow falling and skidding meters on a road after being hit by the vehicle.
As the animal appears to try to get up, the car approaches for a second time.
The cow’s head and part of its torso appear to be trapped under the front of the vehicle as two officers exit. A second police car can be seen on an adjacent street.
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Surrey police said in a statement that they had received “numerous calls from the public reporting a car being damaged” and the animal running into people, and that attempts to safely capture the cow had failed.
“Unfortunately, these actions were unsuccessful and the decision was made to stop them using a police car,” the force said.
The matter has been referred to the police professional standards department and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been notified and a voluntary referral will be made in due course.
Chief Inspector Sam Adcock said: “I know this has caused distress and I would like to thank the community for their concern.
“The decision to use the police car was only taken after other methods to stop the cow failed.
“There will be an investigation into the actions that led to this, but our focus is always on ensuring the safety of the public.”
Kate said it was “a shame” that officers had not contacted her and her partner or other farmers, or called a vet to use a tranquilizer on Beau Lucy, an animal that weighed around 200kg, she said was “not out of bounds”. control, just scared.”
“I can only imagine that the police who did this had no idea about farm animals,” she said.
Kate said Beau Lucy, along with other cows, were put out on the well-fenced Staines Moor to graze and believes she may have escaped by swimming across a river, adding: “I couldn’t believe she ended up where she did.”
She said the cow was “very agitated” and “very scared” but has calmed down since returning to the farm, is eating and drinking and has been seen by a veterinarian.
“I don’t know if she’ll survive,” she said. “She may have died from the shock, but I hope she lives.”
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