On Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, a Boulder police officer shot and killed a bull elk in the area of Ninth and Mapleton around 11:00 p.m. According to the officer, he was on routine patrol when he observed the elk, which appeared to be injured. It was limping, and some of the elk’s antlers had been broken off. In the officer’s judgment, the animal needed to be humanely put down.

 

The elk was in a residential yard when the officer dispatched it with one shot from a shotgun. The elk was taken home to be processed for meat by another officer, who was off-duty at the time.

DeadElk1

It appears that the officer did not inform Boulder Police Dispatch about his intentions to dispatch the animal, nor did he notify an on-duty supervisor or file a report on the incident. Since there was no record about the Boulder Police Department’s involvement, it created confusion about who was responsible. We apologize for the confusion and have initiated an internal personnel investigation into the matter.

 

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department is investigating the matter to determine whether any crime was committed. The Boulder Police Department is cooperating fully with that investigation.

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