The Inola Police Department is now facing backlash after they decided to kill some turkeys that were causing property damage across Inola. These turkeys that were "terrorizing" the neighborhood scratched a vehicle "pretty good," among other things, according to the Inola Police Chief, giving him no choice but to put these birds down.
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2 News Oklahoma talked with the Inola Police Chief, Cliff Stevens, who revealed how the whole turkey situation came to be.
"We started getting these phone calls about turkeys being on top of cars, being on top of houses, roosting and whatnot," Stevens told reporter Douglas Braff. "The turkeys started scratching at a vehicle and scratched it up pretty good, causing some significant damage to some vehicles."
Police Chief Stevens said that the Inola Police Department gave "plenty of time" for the whole case to move on. However, they continued to receive complaints. At the same time, however, he said that several citizens were also feeding the turkeys and "keeping 'em around town."
He would then consult with local wildlife experts, asking for advice on how to approach the turkey situation. "They said that it would be dangerous trying to catch these birds," Stevens said. "We don't have the funds or needs to go and get the proper equipment for our officers to stay safe like this. So, I made the decision that this would be the best decision to do."
According to him, a game warden from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation concluded that the turkeys were not wild-born. Said game warden observed signs of previous captivity. Therefore, since these turkeys were technically not considered "wild-life," Inola police decided to shoot and kill the birds. Stevens revealed that one Inola police officer rounded up the turkeys and killed them at a safe location.
Turkey Backlash
As you might expect, this didn't sit well with the community, who heavily criticized the killing of the turkeys. Authorities announced it on Thursday, January 30, and, since then, users have bashed, blasted, and "cooked" the Inola Police Department without mercy.
One user asked, "So trapping them and relocating them wasn't an option?" Another user responded with, "Of course not. That takes time and effort."
"If they would have just put out a post on the local community page over there I'm positive someone would have went and caught them," a third user wrote. A fourth one said: "Is the Police Chief high, his eyes are closed. That would explain why the big chickens scared him!"
Cliff Stevens defended his and the police's actions, saying that they "did not want to do this." "We try to wait as long as possible to get these birds outta here," Stevens said. "But with the complaints and everything we were getting, it was starting to get to be every single day where we're getting these complaints."
The Police Chief would reveal to 2 News Oklahoma that police shot a total of five turkeys. One is still alive and free to roost. Stevens said they processed the turkey meat and donated it.
