Warning: Viewer discretion is advised. Hide the children. Tell the faint of heart to leave the room. What you are about to watch is horribly graphic and deeply disturbing… Okay, maybe that’s overstating things a bit.
What you’ll see in the video is a Maryland Sheriff taking out a wily groundhog, who allegedly refused to cooperate with the LEO’s commands.
Cpl. Jon Light with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office explained why the officer opted to use deadly force against the rodent.
“You see the groundhog coming after the officer. At this point in time, the animal was not acting as a normal animal would. It is within our policy to dispose of any animal that could pose a health threat,” Light said in an interview with W-BAL.
“It doesn’t appear that it had bitten anyone at that point,” added Light.
What is a “normal” reaction for a frightened and distressed animal? Dunno, but evidently, this chubby little guy wasn’t behaving in that manner.
SEE ALSO: Death From Above: Police Sniper Fatally Shoots Wrong-Way Driver from Helicopter
Here’s the official narrative from the Sheriff’s Office:
The deputy was travelling on Rt 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.
Justyna Olkowska was the onlooker who recorded the confrontation on her camera phone. Judging by her narration during filming, it’s clear she didn’t expect it to end the way it did.
“It started out as a cute encounter where I thought he was trying to help the little fella,” said Olkowska, of Pikesville, Maryland. “I obviously did not think that it would take this turn and was kind of shocked. I am sure the officer did the best thing in this situation. It is not for me to judge.”
While it’s probably wise to avoid armchair QB-ing the officer’s response, people on Twitter can’t resist the urge:
My super progressive friends are using a Carroll County Sheriff Deputy shooting a sick groundhog as a evidence of entrenched police brutality and racial inequality. Those things do exist and they are a problem, but the video has nothing to do with either of them.
— Rob Carlson (@vees) May 8, 2018
Completely unnecessary. #Pathetic
The groundhog was almost to the other side. I’m gonna go out on a limb, and speculate that the sheriff will claim the animal was Rabid.— Chef Joseph C. Kenny (@Superstarzchef) May 8, 2018
Police officer kills scared groundhog causing traffic backup. This is really sickening. He assumed it was sick since it would not runaway. He could have picked it up and put in the nearby woods. Instead he shoots it dead claiming its a hazard.https://t.co/1zDoyMaXPE
— William T. Riker (@RikerResist) May 8, 2018
The only thing that stops a groundhog without a gun is a bad cop with a gun.
— BeerBrewerDan (@BeerBrewerDan) May 8, 2018
This dude legit shot the groundhog because it didn’t obey his order to exit the other side of the street. It began running for the left side and he pulled out his gun and shot it. Pathetic coward. pic.twitter.com/ANacRXynFF
— tony (@_2XL_) May 8, 2018
That behavior was untypical of a groundhog. it was a sick groundhog and he painlessly put it out of it’s misery and helped stop the spread of distemper or rabies. Good job
— diddy (@karylparks) May 8, 2018
Who in their right mind, really cares if he killed a freaking groundhog !! Oh sorry, I did qualify “ in their right mind “ !!
Actually, I believe the incidence of LEO’s having PTSD from perpetual wars is much higher, than the incidence of rabies in a random animal.
I guess the scariest part is the LEO’s are protected by rabidly activist judges.
Stupidest thing I have EVER heard!!
When shooting a damn rodent makes the News, then you know this world has lost it!
People kill them every day, all day, in the country. The second they see you they dive for their hole. There was something wrong with this animal.
A number of years ago one acting like this attacked a group of golfers on the tenth tee at a local golf course here in town. The man ended up beating it to death with his driver! It WAS rabid. NOW the greens keepers there shoot every one they see, and poision the rest of them. They are rodents, treat them as such.
Must have really been a slow news day!
Thanks for your opinion and for sharing your personal experience regarding “diving in your hole” , Ratatouille.
Well groundhogs only run to their holes for safety- the cop should’ve step aside and let the critter get to it.
Any country boy knows this…
ISYN A friend was out shooting groundhogs one day. He reached out to move a small branch out of the way of his 3030. When he pulled the trigger he shot the middle knuckle out of the middle finger of his left hand. The groundhog lived on to continue eating the young corn shoots.
That cop is a bitch, scared of a groundhog. Just get out of the way, the groundhog is not going to chase you down the road.
Couldn’t he have just tazed him, or tackled and handcuffed him, or signed him up for midnight basketball?
Well, folks usually just run critters like that over with their car. Remember folks, be careful with picking up road kill for dinner, as it may be rabid.
Groundhogs are pretty tough. I hit one once with a .357 , I was close enough to see the meat fly out the back, and it still made it to its hole about 20 feet away.
Pa, that wasn’t a groundhog, that was your mother in law, and man is she pissed at you!
GHLM!
That’s right, Ground Hog Lives Matter!
I’ll bet that Ground Hog was completely unarmed, but that nasty cop shot him like he was…, well, like he was…, umm, yeah, like he was just an ANIMAL!
Sick, I tell ya’. It’s just sick.
I\’m surprised the Cop didn\’t claim he was afraid for his life like they do when they Murder Unarmed People in Motel Hallways crying and begging for their life, or small 12 year old children playing in the park, or black guys with a tail light out…
The Cops now days are worthless pussy cowards and should never be issued a gun…This is one more example of Barney Fife in action.
Typical comment section fool.
Wow, somebody needs to spend more time with their therapist…
THIS OFFICER THINKS HE’S A VETERINARIAN TOO! I GUESS THEIR TRAINING HAS IMPROVED OVER THE YEARS!
Send that jackass BACK to pistol training and take away his badge. ANYBODY that behaves that STUPID and shoots THAT poorly form 3-4 feet away SHOULD never be permitted to carry a weapon.
This scenario played out in a reasonable fashion. If no-lifes want to bleed over the death of a stupid groundhog, let them bleed.
The more I look at this the more it seems the Cop is scared to death of this Groundhog. He should have moved out of the way and let it pass. Hope He never comes up against a mean felon>.
I hope he does and I hope the felon takes him out.
Another comment section fool.
Your well reasoned arguments are intellectually stimulating…. as always.
The only thing “clear” here is the rodent was trying to cross the road and the cop wouldn’t let it. It was probably trying to get back to its den, and its young. You mindless drones, on the left and the right, need to stop defending or condemning people’s actions and start looking at facts to determine guilt.
…so should cops carry pitch forks for incidents like this? That’s how its done on farms if a firearm isn’t at the ready. It’s a rodent. Get over it. Maybe people should get a ticket for stopping in the road. Run it over? Snowflake logic: I’m gonna stop on a hwy to save a rodent. No thought that other vehicles could hit them. Dumb people.
Had a Groundhog on my front porch just two days ago, and I live in a town of over thirty thousand. It walked off over to the neighbors and I lost sight of him. Guess I should have shot him for the good of the neighborhood. I’ve hunted groundhogs for over 40 years and have taken hundreds of them. Their not real smart and will sometimes walk right up to you in the woods.. Don’t believe the policeman ever encountered one before and was confused or scared. It was just doing hat groundhogs do..
A groundhog? LOL
I’m not touching this one, literally or figuratively…
I’m confused as to why so many of you are against the actions of the officer. This animal was clearly not in its right mind. Even tame groundhogs don’t act like that. The comment about moving the animal to the nearby woods is ignorant. As though the officer has the equipment to safely capture a possibility rabid groundhog then release the groundhog somewhere else. You can’t just reach down and grab a groundhog. They will bite you, very hard. And releasing an animal with an unknown and possibly very contagious and possibly leathal disease is extremely stupid. The fact they are not testing the animal is stupid as well. If in fact they were to find out the critter is rabid, then they could check the area for other possibly infected animals preventing further spreading. If a groundhog changes you, you may think to just kick it. But if it’s rabid that kick could result in a bite or scratch from the animal causing you to get a series of very painful shots in your abdomen. I say blow its brains out! None of you libtards seem to understand that these people are forced to make decisions in stressful situations and in most cases do a great job weighing their options before acting. I’m just glad the groundhog wasn’t African American. The media would’ve had a field day.
You mistyped. You must have meant, “This ‘Enforcer’ was clearly not in ‘his’ right mind.”
Not every animal with rabies foams at the mouth and walks erratically. That animal was not acting normally. As troubling as it is to see something die, that officer acted correctly.
Another hero useless cop.
Speaking of useless. Go away.
Thanks.
You sound like an idiot cop.
Typical idiot cop. Most of them do not even know what day it is.
Behold the power of 9MM?
The stupidity of liberals and progressives cannot be exaggerated!
They stopped traffic for a groundhog?
What did he shoot it with, didn’t seem to fazed on the first shot, maybe he grazed it.