Planned protest calls for accountability in ‘HeeHaw’ shooting

Donkey shot, killed by officer A Cedartown family is seeking answers after they say a police officer shot and killed their pet miniature donkey during a search for a missing person. CEDARTOWN, Ga. — Community members plan to gather outside the Polk County Courthouse at 8 a.m. Friday to call for accountability and transparency after the police shooting of a family’s miniature donkey. Demonstrators say they want local officials to release all body camera and drone footage from the shooting and fire the Cedartown officer who shot the animal. Cedartown police previously released an officer’s report that gave his account of why he shot and killed Heehaw, a 1-year-old miniature donkey, in a pasture along Grady Road in Polk County while officers searched for a missing 12-year-old girl.

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Scoop News DeskCedartown, Georgia · Published Monday, September 7, 2026 at 7:38 PM UTCUpdated Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 6:18 PM UTC

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According to that report, Officer Trenton Garner wrote that he and K-9 units from multiple agencies were searching on a hill when horses in the pasture were “spooked” near the fence line and ran away. Garner wrote that the Haralson County K-9 unit retreated and that the donkey charged at him and another K-9 handler. “This in fact did not deter the donkey, so I removed my department issued Glock 17 from its holster and pointed it at the donkey.

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