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Raptor Center puts down owl rescued by Coon Rapids Police
“As the owl had fatal injuries, sadly, the best option for this patient was to alleviate suffering with humane euthanasia.”
COON RAPIDS, Minn — In a Facebook post with hundreds of reactions, Coon Rapids police officer Georgia Carlson holds an injured great horned owl.
“We don’t really know how it became injured,” Deputy Police Chief Adam Jacobson said Friday afternoon.
He says a driver called police overnight after spotting the owl in a Planet Fitness parking lot.
“It was awesome that the passerby took the time to stop and call,” Jacobson said. “Our officers responded and found the owl and actually were able to corral it into a cage to get it to the police department and eventually to the Raptor Center.”
KARE 11 spoke with Raptor Center Executive Director Dr. Victoria Hall at around 1:15 p.m.
“It is looking in pretty critical condition, so it’s really good that this bird made it into our hospital,” she said at the time.
Unfortunately just a couple of hours later, Dr. Hall provided an update to say the owl’s injuries were fatal, and that the best option was to alleviate its suffering with humane euthanasia. She says, after full examination, veterinarians determined both wings and both legs were severely fractured, and that the owl was suffering from severe internal trauma.
The police department updated its Facebook post with the news.
The Raptor Center receives and retrieves more than 200 owl species a year, with around half of them being great horned owls. Dr. Hall thanked police for helping ensure this one did not suffer any longer.
“Police departments are fantastic partners of the Raptor Center at helping to identify birds in need and helping to safely contain them and get them in for help because once these birds get to the Raptor Center, you know, if they have a chance, we can do a lot of highly advanced medical care for them to try to give them a second chance,” she said. “Not all of them make it, but we sure try with every single bird that comes through our door.”
Dr. Hall says many owls live in the metro, and says anyone who finds an injured owl should immediately call the Raptor Center at 612-624-4745 for guidance. She advises against handling any injured raptor on your own.
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The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Maturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his department “failed” after a man was shot, allegedly by his neighbor in the city.
“We failed this victim. 100%, because that should not have happened to him,” said O’Hara in a Sunday evening press conference.
The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Moturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
Sawchak was charged with shooting Moturi as he was pruning a tree on his front yard on Oct. 23.
Moturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion.
O’Hara and the MPD came under a heavy attack from the Minneapolis City Council after it was revealed that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office had charged Sawchak, but the MPD had not arrested him.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
“We failed to act urgently enough,” said O’Hara, before citing staffing concerns as a contributing factor.
It was a stark difference from the tone the chief initially took on Friday, then saying “If we wound up in a deadly situation, the headlines would read ‘MPD shot mentally ill person’.”
On Sunday, O’Hara said his previous comments were meant as a response to accusations that the MPD “didn’t care,” about the case.
“This is the result of over-politicizing policing in Minneapolis,” said O’Hara.
O’Hara stated that the MPD will, for the moment, continue waiting for Sawchak to exit his home to arrest him, but the chief added “We are running out of options before we have to escalate the matter.”
The heated back-and-forth between the city council and the chief continued earlier Sunday when Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski released a statement questioning O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey actions in the matter.
“Our Chief of Police is hiding behind excuses, and our Mayor…is just hiding.” said Koski in the statement.
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