Bodycam Video Shows Georgia Officer Shooting Baby Donkey After It Walked Up to Police
Newly released bodycam footage from Cedartown, Georgia, is putting a police officer’s explanation for killing a baby donkey under intense scrutiny.
The incident happened in late August, when officers entered a pasture while assisting a bloodhound team searching for a missing 12-year-old girl. During that search, Officer Trenton Garner shot HeeHaw, a one-year-old miniature donkey owned by farm operator Hannah Israel.
Israel said the officers entered her family’s pasture without permission or warning. In a Facebook post, she wrote: “At 12:45 am cops entered my pasture searching for a missing person WITHOUT permission or warning and shot and killed my bottle-raised BABY donkey.”
She also explained that HeeHaw was not a dangerous animal. He had been raised in the house, participated in petting zoos, and was known for being friendly around people. Israel wrote: “HeeHaw was raised in the house and did petting zoos; he never knew a stranger. And was shot and killed in his OWN pasture for doing what donkeys do. Alerting to a stranger.”
Garner reportedly claimed that shooting the donkey was the only way to protect himself, the K-9 officer, and the bloodhound team. He also said he informed his sergeant and the animal’s owner after the shooting.
The bodycam video tells a sharply different story, according to the report. In the footage, HeeHaw walks toward the officers. The donkey appears curious and approaches as if greeting them. The K-9 handler then uses a Taser on him.
After being tased, HeeHaw walks away. Garner is positioned to the side, but the situation does not end there. He fires multiple rounds at the donkey, sending him to the ground several feet away.
Garner then uses his radio to report that he shot a donkey. He says the animal was trying to attack him and the other officer in the pasture. But the released footage appears to show HeeHaw walking up to the officers rather than charging them. It does not show the kind of aggressive attack described in Garner’s account.
The video has now become the central piece of evidence for the Justice For HeeHaw campaign, which had pushed for its release. The group says the footage makes the need for answers and accountability even more urgent. Its message is clear: HeeHaw was a bottle-raised animal on his own property, and his death should not simply be forgotten.
The campaign says it will continue speaking HeeHaw’s name and demanding justice. The report also argues that firing the officer would not be enough, calling for a lengthy prison sentence, a major fine, and stronger animal-welfare laws to prevent similar incidents.
The bodycam footage does not erase the loss for Israel’s family, but it does give the public a chance to see the encounter for itself. The key question now is whether the video will lead to meaningful accountability for the shooting of HeeHaw.
The bodycam footage is finally out.
And now the truth is there for everyone to see.
HeeHaw wasn’t charging. He wasn’t attacking. He wasn’t some uncontrollable threat.
He was doing what everyone who knew him said he always did: running up to greet someone in his friendly,… pic.twitter.com/9ivOmuMVll
— Justice For HeeHaw (@Justice4HeeHaw) October 9, 2026