Residents of tiny Welshpool, Wales must have been stunned to see police officers clad in full body armor and carrying sub-machine guns as they went out to find their criminal.
What could it be? An armed robber? An escaped convict? Well, they were chasing an escapee, all right, in the form of a terrified young cow that escaped from a lifestock market and went running for its life.
Nothing unusual, right? Cattle escape all the time. But this time the officers arrived with Heckler and Koch semi-automatic machine guns, and the cops went on the hunt for some hamburger on the hoof, reports the Daily Mail.
The town’s residents, including witness Julie Macleoud complained the cops’ reaction was over the top.
‘It was awful. Why did they have to shoot it? There was no need, it was only a heifer. If it was a bull then I would understand but it’s only a heifer.’
The desperado fled the livestock mart and headed for a nearby garden, probably to see how much lettuce she could pilfer while on the lam.
Farmers and an auctioneer showed up to help assess the scene and the property was cordoned off while a police marksman shot the heifer dead.
And they weren’t taking any chances. As he set up his shooting station, colleagues were ready with machine guns in case the cow made another mad dash for freedom.