The plight of an escaped 10-month-old cow has ignited a heated debate about animal cruelty and excessive police force after the calf was repeatedly rammed by a patrol car following its escape from a nearby breeding farm.
In shocking footage from the Staines upon Thames area on Friday (14 June), the cow can be seen being mowed down by the police vehicle and thrown an estimated 30ft across a residential street.
Surrey police officer who used car to ram cow removed from frontline duties
The plight of an escaped 10-month-old cow has ignited a heated debate about animal cruelty and excessive police force after the calf was repeatedly rammed by a patrol car following its escape from a nearby breeding farm.
In shocking footage from the Staines upon Thames area on Friday (14 June), the cow can be seen being mowed down by the police vehicle and thrown an estimated 30ft across a residential street.
While police claimed that they rammed the calf because it was putting the public in danger, this has been disputed by witnesses who said the animal was understandably spooked but did not present “harm to anyone”.
The incident, which lasted over two hours and many have complained could have been “dealt with a lot more humanely”, saw the police officer behind the wheel suspended pending an investigation.
The situation has resulted in a heated debate over the ethics of what happened, with some calling for the police involved to lose their jobs and others, including naturalist Chris Packham, arguing that they simply need more training.
