Deputy shoots groundhog crossing street in Carroll County

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
Can anyone explain to me why that pos shot that critter?

He screwed up engaging it to begin with. Then became afraid as it became more aggressive in response to his aggression.

.. sounds all too familiar for some..

That groundhog was acting very abnormal , actually aggressive in my opinion! I have killed quite a few to prevent property damage. If he hadn’t put it down do you not think it would have possibly caused an accident wondering around on the road like that? Get real folks, public safety officers have to take the less popular route in problems occasionally.

a reply to: notsure1

What the actual F?????

Why?

If ya slow cook them long enough they ain't half bad in a pinch.

Its just a groundhog lol so its its hard to be upset.. I just thought it was a 3 stoogesish episode with just 1 stooge .

Where I live we have a busy intersection with a little pond/lake on the corner ducks are always holding up traffic.

I have been held up by these ducks crossing the road no less then 20 times, seen people honking and yelling , gettint out and trying chase them away.

Seen the mama ducks actually charge people and scare them lol .

In all these times no one ever shot one of the ducks. Not once..

I would like to know the hole story before I pass judgement. It was the most aggressive whistle pig I had ever seen, they tend to run from humans not cross a road to get to one.
ETA The officer thought the same as I would. I don't like killing animals, but if it's a danger or carring rabies then I feel sorry for the animal and will dispatch it quick with as little suffering as possible.

The deputy was traveling on Route 26 in the area of White Rock Road when he observed traffic backing up along the road. He found that the groundhog in question was walking into the roadway, causing vehicles to stop and creating a hazard. He got out of his vehicle to assess, and as he tried to direct the groundhog off of the roadway, he realized that it was not responding as expected for an animal that was not being cornered or trapped. Believing the groundhog to be either sick or injured, the deputy then put the animal down for the public’s safety.

link

a reply to: notsure1

cheese and rice... That officer was either completely incompetent or was just itching to shoot something today.

While I have 0 idea if animal control was called, I'm not really sure what a groundhog could do to an officer...Heck if the officer is that frightened by a groundhog, he should have called for a piece of cardboard.

While I am not familiar with groundhog body cues, just from what I saw, the officer took space away from the animal, and then backed away...effectively giving back that space. So the groundhog did what most animals would do when feeling threatened...it took that space. And then the officer backed up further, giving the groundhog even more space....effectively inviting the animal to charge ahead and claim that space. Then the officer shot it. The second shot I have no problem with because it was a mercy shot. It's the first shot that makes me wonder what in the hell the cop was thinking.

While the world won't grieve for a varmint, this cop really would do well to understand a bit of animal behavior...perhaps one day it might save a life.

a reply to: snowspirit


How do these Donuts get jobs?

Obviously the poor lil critter must have had a roll of Mentos on him.

Oh boy, let’s run up a few thousand dollars of tax dollar expense so animal control can come out and take it back to euthanize so our public won’t witness the horror..... Meanwhile, we’ll close the road down till it’s all over ! Riiiiiiiight...

originally posted by: Blaine91555

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
Can anyone explain to me why that pos shot that critter?

LINK

MERIDEN, Conn. (CBS Connecticut) – Public health officials in Meriden have issued a warning about rabies after a person was bit by a woodchuck that later tested positive for rabies. The incident occurred earlier this week in the area of Baldwin Pond, said officials.
Officials offered the following tips:
Vaccinate your pets. Be sure your pet dogs, cats, ferrets and other animals are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations. Pets too young to be vaccinated should be kept indoors

The same reason anyone would shoot a wild aggressive animal that would normally run but instead attacks. Rabies is no joke.

I understand what your saying... and if it had of been just some dude shooting it with their privately owned weapon.. I'd think, big deal!

But a cops service weapon isn't for general animal control.

In fact, the only reason a cop should even consider putting their hand on their service weapon, is when their life or someone else's life is in imminent danger and their's absolutely no other option...

Shooting a rodent on the side of the road, cause it was acting kinda cray, is a totally inappropriate use of a service weapon... lol, Actually seems kinda silly that I'd need to emphasize that.

But how much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?? I guess we'll never know.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

I don't hate cops so it seems to me like he did the sensible thing. Better a cop than someone with questionable skills. Better to dispatch it than risk it having rabies and biting someone. Better dealt with right away than waiting until it caused a wreck. All in all, he did nothing wrong.

I get that some have a phobia of guns, some don't like any cops at all or flat out hate them and just look for any excuse to spew venom about them, but this case?

what a piece of s##t. that's one hog (the 2 legged one in uniform) i'd like to see roasting on a spit.

I had a family of groundhogs living by my house a few years back... used to joke that the whole area was on top of a huge den of a million or so groundhogs that had tunnels going all over the place, there was that many groundhogs and holes for them to pop up out of around the area.

well, this family consisted of the mother, think that daddy was there occasionally also, along with three babies.. and their tunnel came out right under the the stairs to our front door. the babies would literally lay in front of the door on the steps!!
I've got to tell ya, ain't never seen any of those ground hogs acting the way this one did, and they did kind of get used to us being around. just not so used to us that they would run towards us. they would always run towards their home if we got too close to them.

either someone tamed the groundhog and kept it as a pet only to drop it off on the side of the road, or there was something wrong with it... like rabies.
the cop was a jerk, but there very well may have been a safety issue involved. I mean what if it was a little kid playing in their back yard that the animal was trying to get friendly with. the claws on those things look like they could shred your arm off you! and I am sure their teeth would be just as bad if not worse.

originally posted by: butcherguy
Wild groundhogs, when they see a human normally run in the opposite direction.
Typically, they run to the opening of their burrow and dive in to get away from a human.
This one was acting abnormally. It may have had rabies, who knows?
It is a rodent that is not an endangered species.
Carroll County is largely rural. I have friends that live there. Farmers look at groundhogs a bit differently than city dwellers.

Beat me to it
Groundhogs usually head for the hills with humans around. In fact , most animals do. They do not charge. Had a raccoon come at me like that once. Thank the heavens I was holding a 12 gauge shotgun . Did not hesitate to put it down once I realized it was foaming at the mouth.
Some city folks just dont understand

Sprinkle some crack on it and move along. As is custom.

a reply to: Gothmog

thats the general rule of thumb: if the animal wants to approach, its likely not good for you to allow it to happen

Woodchuck was trying to get to it's den the moron.
Cars were stopped and it figured it could get across the road.
Move out of the way and let him go home.
Just sad and stupid.

a reply to: notsure1

Wtf.
Just completely wtf.

A little bit of solace in this situation though.
You can bet that idiot cop is losing his job when the out cry reaches back to the station.
Glad it was on video.
Wish the little guy did have rabies and went for this losers throat.