News Release:
On May 09, 2023, a suspect, later identified as Joshua Russell Minton, age 34, of Millers Creek, NC, fled from Boone Police Officers during a traffic stop. The suspect led Boone police and deputies of the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office in a chase. The suspect abandoned his vehicle in the area of U.S. Hwy. 421 and U.S. Hwy. 221 in Deep Gap and fled into an undeveloped area. Due to the suspect’s fast and reckless driving, our officers were not close enough to see exactly where the suspect ran.
As officers began to search the area, they received some unexpected, but welcomed assistance from some local cows. Apparently, cows do not want suspected criminals loitering in their pasture and quickly assisted our officers by leading them directly to where the suspect was hiding. The cows communicated with the officers as best they could and finally just had the officers follow them to the suspect’s location.
In addition to thanking our officers and deputies for putting themselves in harm’s way, obviously, we want to express our gratitude to the cows for their assistance. This opens up all kinds of questions as to the bovines’ role in crime fighting. Honestly, it is something that we have not considered before now. As we examine the obvious next steps of incorporating a Bovine Tracking Unit into our department’s law enforcement capabilities, there are many factors that we will have to consider:
♦ How adaptable are cows to a variety of police work or can they just find hiding suspects?
♦ Are cows more cost effective than K-9 dogs?
♦ How will we transport cows to the scenes and is this compatible with the Town’s sustainability goals in terms of types of vehicles needed [since], obviously, there are methane issues?
♦ Cost of training, vet care, ballistic vests, etc.?
We at the Boone Police Department are always looking for better ways to serve our community. We may be a small town but, we are a progressive, forward thinking law enforcement agency. For rural law enforcement, we want to be the tip of the spear.
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