By Bob Dale, BBC News, South East
Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner said social media speculation over a decision by officers to ram a loose cow “does not necessarily reflect the situation” they were in.
A police vehicle was filmed hitting the animal twice in a street in South West London.
The action has been criticised by the Home Secretary and animal welfare groups.
Surrey Police said the decision to use the car to stop the animal was made because of concerns over public safety.
Surrey PCC Lisa Townsend said: “There is much speculation on social media, which does not necessarily reflect the situation which was ongoing for a number of hours or the difficult decisions facing officers on the ground at the time.
“I agree the force were right to opt for a self referral in this instance, and I know they are also thoroughly evaluating the incident internally.
“I would ask everyone to allow time for this to be properly reviewed rather than speculating and causing unnecessary additional stress and concern within the community.”
Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner
On Saturday the Home Secretary James Cleverley said on X, formerly Twitter, that he “can think of no reasonable need for this action”, and has asked for an urgent explanation of the “heavy handed” action.
The RSPCA said the police action “appears disproportionate to the situation”.
Speaking to Sky News, the partner of the farmer who owns the cow described her shock at seeing the video.
She said: “It looked like they tried to kill it.
“I don’t know if it was his decision to drive at the animal or whether he was instructed to, but the police, when they got out of the car looked pretty agitated themselves.”
Amarjit Kharaud
The force said the cow has been taken to a nearby farm and has suffered a large cut to its leg.
In a statement police said: “Officers were extremely concerned about the public’s safety, and over a period of a number of hours tried a number of options to safely capture the cow.
“Unfortunately, these were unsuccessful, and the decision was made to stop it using a police car.”
The force said it had now referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
