Officer who ran over calf is taken off frontline duties

A Surrey Police officer has been taken off frontline duties after striking a runaway cow twice with his vehicle - a moment caught on video that caused widespread shock as it went viral on social media. In the video, the young cow, Beau Lucy, is seen loose in the street in Staines before being rammed twice by the police vehicle.

- BARNEY DAVIS

The partner of the farmer who owns Beau Lucy has called for the driver to be sacked – and said the calf could still die from its injuries.

The officer will be withdrawn from frontline duties until an investigation into his conduct has been completed, the force said after the tactics used to stop the cow were described by home secretary James Cleverly as “heavy handed”. Police say the 10-month-old calf is now back at her farm and recuperating with her herd after suffering a large gash to her leg.

Beau Lucy is understood to have slipped from her grazing enclosure and swum across a river before making it to Stainesupon-Thames on Friday night. Video footage shows Beau Lucy running loose on streets and pavements before being run down by a Surrey Police 4x4.

Police claimed the animal was a threat to human life, but Mr Cleverly posted on X that he could “think of no reasonable need for this action”.