A Michigan community has launched a “Justice for Annie” campaign after a well-loved deer was shot and killed by a local police officer.
Annie, the deer, was spotted by Pokagon Band Tribal Police Officer David Loza on the driveway of a family’s home in Lawrence, while the officer was assisting the Van Buren County Sheriff’s office on an unrelated child support incident.
Officer Loza allegedly told the family that the animal was “domesticated and needs to be put down,” according to WWMT.
In disturbing videos shared on Facebook by Nevaeh Sylvester, who looked after the deer, the officer is seen holding Annie by a collar before taking out his gun and shooting her dead.
“My Anne girl has been wrongfully shot by the police! Because she was a “pet” but has never been held captive… please bring my baby to justice,” Ms Sylvester wrote in the social media post.
Ms Sylvester said that her family first came across Annie two years ago when the deer’s mother was killed by a car, leaving her orphaned, WWMT reported.
Pamela Babb, Ms Sylvester’s grandmother, said she called up a local wildlife agency, who told her that they did not have the capacity to take the fawn in.
So Ms Sylvester decided to feed Annie three times a day until she could eventually survive on her own.
“I felt like that was the more humane thing to do as opposed to leaving her with her dead mother," Ms Sylvester told the outlet.
As the deer grew older, she would come back to visit the family at their home and would play with the other animals and children, Ms Babb said.
Annie the deer was killed by a police officer— (Justice for Annie Facebook)
Ms Slyvester said she thought of Annie as another sibling and soon the small community of Lawrence grew to love the friendly deer.
“The whole town enjoyed her; she was everyone’s deer," Ms Babb said.
On Friday, Ms Babb said that the officer had reached out his hand and touched the deer on the head, leading him to believe the deer was domesticated.
“There is no reason for her to be put down, she never hurt anybody,” she said.
The Lawrence community is demanding justice for the beloved deer, with locals starting a campaign dubbed “Justice for Annie”. Some have even taken to painting the slogan on their cars.
“I would like to see him lose his privileges of hunting; I think he should be demoted,” Ms Babb said of the officer.
The family who were visited by Annie often were distraught after her death— (WWMT)
Following her death, Pokagon Band Tribal Police released a statement saying it was arresting a suspect at the same property when the deer was “euthanised”.
Police said officers had consulted with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, though it is unclear when.
The officer has since been put on administrative leave while the shooting of the deer is investigated, the statement said.
Pokagon Band Tribal police have not confirmed the officer’s identity, but the family and local news stations have named him as Mr Loza.
The Independent has contacted Pokagon Band Tribal Police for further information.
