Missing girl found nearby after fatal shooting
The killing of a pet donkey at a Polk County farm has been turned over to the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement Division, according to Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome.
Newsome said he requested an outside investigation.
“That is the agency that is the relative expert in working cases like this,” he said.
Newsome confirmed the Cedartown officer at the center of the investigation was placed on administrative leave. He said he decided to call for an outside investigation to show honesty and transparency.
“I want to regain the public trust,” Newsome said, admitting that he has seen many of the comments about the situation resulting from the death of the pet mini baby donkey named Heehaw.
“It’s not been a fun day,” he said, “but we’re going to do the right thing for the right reason.”
Newsome said some of the information spread across social media is inaccurate.
He said the Polk County Police Department (PCPD)was working a case of a missing 12-year-old girl Saturday and called the CDP and other agencies to help in the search. Several officers were scouting Polk County, particularly the middle of the county where the Elsberry Riding and Farm is located.
That search is what led the two officers, one from each department, to the Elsberry farm pasture in the middle of the night, Newsome said.
Newsome said the child was found at a nearby church after the incident in the pasture where Heehaw was killed.
When asked about the protocol for officers entering private property, Newsome said he would prefer not to answer that because it is part of the investigation.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer for publications in the U.S, Canada, the UK and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio. She is on Facebook, X, YouTube, content on Substack, and has a podcast on Rumble.