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Buddy the orphaned deer that adopted the citizens at Yosemite Lakes Park was shot by a California Highway Patrol officer on September 25, 2000. The witnesses at the scene are outraged at the reckless behavior displayed by this officer, and everyone is outraged at the loss of this little deer that spent his days meandering through the park looking for pets, scratches and maybe a snack after his mother was shot at the golf course in the area a year ago. |
As most of you know I am from the central valley in California.
Very close by is the wonderful National Park Yosemite.
Between my home in Fresno and the park is a wonderful foothill/mountain area where the city dwellers have moved in order to have their families closer to nature.
One such area is called Yosemite Lakes Park.
YLP is a nice small community where many people know each other even though their homes are not sitting right on top of one another.
Monday September 25, 2000 tragedy struck that community.
Buddy (a yearling deer) was shot by a California Highway Patrolman.
Before I continue let me first say law enforcement is a tough job.
Most law enforcement officers are doing a great job and doing the best they can to protect the citizens.
The whole force is not responsible for the bad behavior of one and it is necessary we keep that in mind.
In the shooting of Buddy there is a controversy.
The officer says one thing the witnesses say another.
The CHP officials are caught in the middle as are the California Fish and Game.
An investigation is in progress.
I will let you draw your own conclusions as I have already done.
This is a statement from Richard J. Fox volunteer fire fighter on the scene and eyewitness to the shooting.
COPY OF THE COMPLAINT FILED TO CHP.
As a concerned citizen, this is my formal complaint against the actions of officer Ron DeChamplain at @ 8:15 a.m. on 9/25/00. In responding to an "MVA" as a volunteer fire fighter I witnessed the following:
At approximately 7:30 a.m. a driver ran off of the road and glanced a telephone pole. This occurred on Road 400 in Coarsegold, CA. During the process of cleaning up the scene approximately 30-40 minutes later, we were joined by a friendly deer that was looking to all of us for pets. We were all enjoying this, but when the yearling approached officer DeChamplain on the shoulder of the road, he pushed it away from him with his clipboard and then grabbed his antler to push him back, he then took 2 steps back and sprayed him with pepper spray. The yearling backed even farther off the roadway in obvious discomfort, sneezing and snorting and then he proceeded to depart and head away from the scene towards the house down the hill. When the deer was approximately 25 feet away, down the hill from the road, officer DeChamplain jumped up into the back of a truck that was on the scene and discharged his firearm hitting the deer in the back of the head, bringing the deer down. When the deer tried to get back up, officer DeChamplain again fired his weapon and the deer fell dead into the fence that he was heading for. At this point officer DeChamplain yelled out for all of us to hear "does anyone want a deer?". When DeChamplain first drew his weapon, the resident, which was heading towards us, was screaming for him not to shoot and went to pieces when he did. We were all stunned to say the least.
Heading back to quarters, we all tried to sort out what we had just witnessed and for which we were still trying to find any justification. Officer DeChamplain came to our quarters and stated that "some lady called in and complained and now he had to get witnesses". At this time I made it clear to him that I felt that he had killed the deer unjustifiably. Officer DeChamplain stated that the deer was aggressive and had been trying to get at him in the back of the truck. At this point I told him that he was lying and let him know that we all saw the deer heading away. He tried to justify it by asking if I had a 17-year-old daughter on the way to the hospital, and I could only reply no. We then asked him why he didn't call for animal control or ask anyone else for assistance, to which he responded that the deer was in the roadway creating a hazard and that he didn't have time to wait for animal control or other entity as he had two calls pending. Again, I disputed him and made it clear that we all saw that the deer was half way down the hill, to which he stated "oh well, everyone has their own opinion". He then proceeded to take our names and numbers. I can only guess that those other calls were put off indefinitely as now he had to fill out reports in an effort to "CYA".
My complaint isn't about the "shooting of a deer", but summarized as follows: At no time did officer DeChamplain warn any of us that there was a potential problem, nor call for any assistance from authorities such as animal control or fish & game, nor warn any of us that he was going to discharge his weapon, nor make sure that his background was safe and clear, nor take into consideration that the area in which he fired was a definite fire hazard as boulders were abundant and there was dry brush and grass. Besides the civil servants on the roadway when he discharged his weapon, there were civilians driving by taking their children to school. Then for him to taunt the poor distraught resident by yelling "does anyone want a deer" is beyond unprofessional and not the acts of a well meaning public servant. As well, officer DeChamplain made it clear that he was going to report the circumstances to fit his needs. I for one am not comfortable with this type of officer watching out for my community's safety.
This also brings up a question as to accountability. If officer DeChamplain didn't have to account for his TWO shell casings this time, how many other opportunities has there been for poaching that may have occurred without witnesses. I would also like to see a copy of the policies and procedures regarding the accountability and responsibilities of the peace officers.
I would appreciate a thorough investigation and speedy disclosure of the discipline decided upon.
Richard J. Fox
I talked to Rick Fox first on Wednesday or Thursday after the shooting. I had been given a newspaper account by my very upset husband. I was so aghast at what I read that I decided to do a web page and wanted to hear first hand what went on that day.
I have since talked with Sgt. Ted Eichman at CHP and was assured that a full investigation was ongoing. He had originally thought that investigation would be finished on Friday the 6th but now knew that because of the many complaints rolling in it would take longer than expected.
Today October 5th in the morning I spoke with Captain Bond at the California State Fish and Game. At the beginning of the conversation I got the distinct impression that there was no ongoing investigation in regards to Buddy by Fish and Game. That they were waiting for the outcome of the ongoing investigation by the CHP. When I asked him who I might file a complaint with in his department he wanted to know about what.
I then asked him if it was legal to shoot a yearling spike deer in the area where Buddy was shot. He told me he did not know as he was not familiar with the laws around YLP. I then asked him what would Fish and Game do if I a civilian had shot this yearling deer in that area. He said they would be investigating. I then asked him if they were treating this case differently because this yearling was shot by a CHP officer. He said no they were not and there was an investigation going on.
There is just one tiny fact that is being ignored here.
Buddy no matter where he was is not legal game.
If I had shot Buddy I would have been cited on the spot.
Even more important is the fact that this area is restricted ... it is a residential area.
So not only was an illegal deer shot it was shot in a restricted residential area with the house of Desiree Zinich in the line of fire ... but worse Desiree herself was running toward the scene screaming Don't Shoot! Don't Shoot!
I would imagine that had I a civilian been the shooter in this circumstance there would be more than an investigation going on ... in fact I would probably be making this report from a jail cell as we speak.
However from what Captain Bond has told me they are simply investigating this officer so apparently the public and "this" CHP officer are not treated the same.
After speaking to Captain Bond and not being terribly reassured that Fish and Game was going to do anything at all in this case I decided it was a good idea to travel up the mountain myself and take a few pictures. I talked to Rick Fox who kindly offered to show me the exact location and indeed a picture (or few) is worth a thousand words.
Rick met us in YLP and led us to the scene of the accident and shooting.
We were met there by another witness.
I was stunned when I saw how truly reckless this shooting really was.
First the area is dried grass ... this is the middle of fire season and the least spark can start a raging forest fire.
Secondly the area is strewn with rocks and boulders ... had this officer missed his mark and hit a rock that shot could have ended up killing a bystander rather than this yearling deer.
Third in the direct path behind this little deer the witnesses report Desiree Zinich was running from her home toward the scene.
Fourth it is more than evident that this deer could not have been a hazard to anybody at the accident scene since he was over an embankment and down in a gully on his way home.
Fifth he was out of sight from a standing position on the edge of the roadway. This officer had to jump into the bed of a pickup in order to get a clear shot.
Sixth he said nothing to anyone. He drew his weapon and stunned everyone at the scene when he fired his first shot which hit Buddy in the head. The little deer stumbled and fell got up and the second shot was fired and he died. At that point the officer yelled "does anyone want deer?".
I have asked Rick what could this officer have been thinking?
Neither of the witnesses that were with me there had an answer
I have no answer after looking at the scene other than he was not thinking at all.
My next question is ... do we need CHP officers on the force who do not use their head, common sense or training?
Another issue is the number of shots fired.
According to Sgt. Eichman the report filed by the officer said one shot was fired. There were 2 shots in the deers head, there were 2 shell casings found and the witnesses saw 2 shots fired.
So do we have an officer who wrote up a false report?
If so what will be done about it?
What eventually happened?
The officer received a reprimand ... he suffered quite a lot of negative feedback from the community.