An investigation into a police officer who rammed their car into a cow earlier this year has concluded.
Footage of the incident, which occurred at around midnight on 15 June, made national news as it showed a 10-month-old calf being rammed by a police car after it was wandering around Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey.
Warning: Graphic content
The cow, named Beau Lucy, had been filmed walking around on the roads at night by local residents when a police car hit her and knocked her down the street, the same car then drove into the cow again and kept her on the ground.
There were some protests from onlookers and Surrey Police later said that the officer driving the car had been removed from frontline duties pending an investigation, while Beau Lucy had sustained cuts and grazes and was later returned to her farm to recover.
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The investigation has since reviewed over 250 pieces of footage and taken 75 witness statements to determine whether the officer caused unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Beau Lucy's owner, a farmer named Rob, had described the cow being rammed into by a car as 'quite horrific' and 'wrong', saying he didn't understand why officers didn't use 'a tranquilising dart' to pacify the cow and wondered why a vet wasn't present.
At the time of the incident, police said they had attempted to contact local vets 'without success'.
With the investigation now over, the cop who was behind the wheel is going to return to frontline duties after the review found their actions to be 'lawful and necessary'.
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As per The Independent, Surrey Police said: "The SIO (senior investigating officer) has now completed their investigation and determined that while footage of the incident was distressing in nature, those involved in the incident acted within their duties, and the tactics adopted were both lawful and necessary to prevent harm to the public and property.
"As such, no further action will be taken in either the criminal investigation, or the internal misconduct matter."
Nev Kemp, deputy chief constable for Surrey Police, added that the police understood how strong people's feelings would be about the incident and the investigation did say there was 'a need for individual learning'.
He said: "After investigating for five months, the SIO found that while there is necessary organisational learning in relation to how we handle loose livestock, no criminal offences were made out and therefore no further action should be taken against those who were involved.
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“This determination was supported by the head of professional standards for Surrey Police who subsequently reviewed whether there was any potential misconduct.
“They determined a need for individual learning, but that no further action is taken in relation to misconduct. The driver of the vehicle will return to frontline duties in due course.”
DCC Kemp added: "We have reviewed the recommendations made by the SIO and experts in this area, and will be working to address these promptly, sharing any best practice with forces across the UK."
Joe Harker