CEDARTOWN, Ga. — Newly released bodycam footage shows the moment a Cedartown police officer fatally shot a 1-year-old miniature donkey named HeeHaw in its pasture early on August 30 while officers searched for a missing child who was later found safe nearby.
The video, obtained through court proceedings and made public this week, has intensified scrutiny of Officer Trenton Ryan Garner’s account that the small animal charged officers and a K-9 team despite a Taser deployment. Farm owner Hannah Israel has filed a federal lawsuit alleging officers entered her enclosed pasture without permission or a warrant and that HeeHaw, which she described as bottle-raised, highly socialized, and never aggressive, posed no threat.
According to Garner’s incident report, officers from multiple agencies, including a Polk County K-9 handler and a Haralson County bloodhound team, were tracking a trail for a missing 12-year-old girl when they entered the pasture at Elsberry Riding and Farm along Grady Road near Rockmart around 12:45 a.m. Horses in the pasture spooked and ran. The report states a donkey on a nearby hill “began to charge at us.” A K-9 handler activated a Taser in an attempt to deter the animal. When that failed, Garner wrote that he drew his department-issued Glock 17 and fired a single round, striking the donkey to prevent injury to the handler and the bloodhound team. HeeHaw turned, retreated uphill, and collapsed.
Israel has strongly disputed that characterization. She said HeeHaw was raised in the house as a baby, slept in her bed, participated in petting zoos, and visited nursing homes. “He thought people were his family and he was our family,” she has said. She stated the donkey was trained to approach people and would bray as a form of greeting or alerting. In the bodycam footage highlighted online, the small donkey appears to trot toward the officers’ flashlight beams in the darkness rather than aggressively charge, consistent with the owner’s description of its friendly behavior.
After the shooting, officers left the scene. Israel said she received a call informing her that the donkey had been “dispatched.” She and family members searched the dark pasture with flashlights for roughly 20 minutes to an hour before locating the body. Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome placed Garner on administrative leave and transferred the investigation to the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s law enforcement division. Newsome has reviewed the bodycam but declined detailed public comment while the probe continues; reports indicate the officer did not claim he feared for his own life in discussions with the chief.
Israel’s attorney filed a civil rights lawsuit on September 11 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia’s Rome Division against Garner individually. The complaint alleges unauthorized entry onto the property, no warrant or emergency justifying the search of the pasture, and an unreasonable use of force against a “young, small, and tranquil” animal that posed no danger. It claims violations of Fourth and 14th Amendment rights related to the entry and the destruction of property. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Separately, the attorney issued a $1 million demand to the City of Cedartown and related entities.
The missing girl was located safe at a church near the pasture shortly after the incident. The shooting prompted local protests calling for the release of footage and accountability for the officer, along with widespread online attention. Garner, who joined the Cedartown department in 2023, remains on leave pending the outcome of the agricultural department investigation and the civil case. Officials have not released additional statements responding to the bodycam footage as of this week.
A note on comments: Our advertisers enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy on racism, hate speech, and threats of violence. Any comment that crosses that line will be removed and the account permanently banned — no warnings. Debate hard, but keep it civil.