Police officer's decision to ram escaped cow with car was ‘lawful and necessary'

A police officer who rammed an escaped cow with a patrol car will return to frontline duties after an investigation found the tactic was “both lawful and necessary”.

Surrey Police was criticised after footage, posted online, showed a 10-month-old calf being rammed by a police car following reports of an animal on the loose in Staines-upon-Thames after midnight on 15 June. Then then Home Secretary James Cleverly called for a “full, urgent explanation” into the incident and the officer involved was removed from frontline duties while it was probed.

On Friday, the force said the incident had been investigated as both a criminal and internal misconduct matter and had now concluded. The probe found the officer 'acted within their duties' and will now return to frontline duties.

The investigation, led by the professional standards department and overseen by a senior investigating officer (SIO), reviewed over 250 pieces of video footage, 75 witness statements, and obtained the expert opinions of animal welfare specialists to determine if the actions of those involved amounted to the offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

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“The SIO 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,” the force said. “As such, no further action will be taken in either the criminal investigation, or the internal misconduct matter.”

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp said the force appreciated the strength of feeling in relation to the incident, adding: “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. 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.”

Mr Kemp said the incident had highlighted several issues in relation to how the police responded to a loose-livestock incident and said they wanted to do what they could to reduce the possibility of an event such as this happening again.

“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,” he said.

Police said the cow Beau Lucy - who suffered a large cut to one leg, along with grazes and bruises in the incident - was well and remained at the farm with her herd.