The officer filmed deliberately ramming a cow twice with his police car has been removed from frontline duties while an internal investigation is conducted.
Nev Kemp, deputy chief constable of Surrey police, said: “At this time, the officer who was driving the police car has been removed from frontline duties pending the outcome of these investigations.”
The owner of the young cow has described the incident as “horrific”. Rob, who did not wish to give his surname, in his 60s, told the PA Media news agency: “I think the video speaks for itself. It was quite horrific.”
Footage shared widely on social media showed a police car driving into the animal, a 10-month-old breeding heifer called Beau Lucy, in Raleigh road, Feltham.
After the first strike, the car hit the animal for a second time, with the cow appearing to become trapped under the vehicle.
“The method of dealing with the situation was incorrect,” Rob said. “It was wrong and I think that’s the message we’ve learned. It could have been handled so much better. The videos were an upsetting sight.”
Kate, the partner of the farmer who owns the cow, earlier called the footage “horrific”.“It looked like they tried to kill it,” she told Sky News.
“Honestly, when I saw the video, I thought he should lose his job. I just thought it was disgusting, I couldn’t believe it,” she added. “I don’t know if it was his decision to drive at the animal or whether he was instructed to, but the police, when they got out of the car looked pretty agitated themselves.”
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The heifer has no broken bones and is recovering in a barn with other calves but could still die of shock, she said.
The home secretary, James Cleverly, has asked Surrey police to provide a “full, urgent explanation”.
In a post on X, Cleverly wrote: “I can think of no reasonable need for this action. I’ve asked for a full, urgent explanation for this. It appears to be unnecessarily heavy-handed.”
A Surrey police spokesperson said they tried to safely capture the cow over a number of hours and explored several options before hitting it with a car. The force said the matter had been referred to its professional standards department.
Ch Insp Sam Adcock said: “I know that this has caused distress and I’d like to thank the community for their concern. The decision to use the police car is one that was only taken after other methods to stop the cow had failed.
“There will be an investigation into the actions that led to this, but our focus at all times is on ensuring the safety of the public. I know there are videos circulating of this incident, which the public may find distressing. I would ask that these videos are sent directly to us to help with our investigation.”
A spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: “We have been notified by Surrey police about this incident and that a referral will be made in due course. When we receive it we will carry out an assessment to determine what further action is required by us.”
