Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jaeson Smith said in a November 2 report that Cedartown Officer Trenton Garner reasonably acted to protect another officer during the encounter that killed HeeHaw. Trenton Garner, the Georgia officer who fatally shot baby donkey HeeHaw in August, will not face criminal charges, the district attorney, per CBS News.
Garner said that he then reported the shooting to police, following which officers spoke to HeeHaw’s owner Hannah Israel , who “stated that the donkey would never act aggressive towards anyone, nor would it try to bite anyone. Israel has now filed a civil lawsuit accusing officers of entering her fenced pasture without permission or a warrant, and shooting HeeHaw without provocation. The lawsuit is reportedly separate from Smith’s criminal review. The attorneys even challenged Garner’s argument that qualified immunity, a legal protection that can shield officers from civil liability, should prevent the lawsuit from proceeding.
They cited a 2024 federal appeals court ruling that they believe laid out limits on when officers could shoot domestic animals.
Smith’s report reportedly draws on a Georgia Department of Agriculture investigation, witness interviews, dispatch records and body-camera video. It stated that officers backed away as HeeHaw approached, and that the donkey continued toward another officer even after he activated a Taser’s electrical arc.
HeeHaw got approximately an arm’s length away before Garner fired, the report said.
“After a review of Investigator Cruce’s entire investigation and all evidence, Garner’s actions do not sustain criminal liability,” Smith wrote.
Garner previously claimed that HeeHaw charged at officers as they made their way into the petting zoo after following a trail of footprints, where they came across some horses.
