Holly MatkinDouglas County, KS – A turkey accused of breaking into a residential home and refusing to leave when asked to do so has been pardoned by the Douglas County sheriff (video below).
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) released bodycam footage of the harrowing encounter, which took place at a Douglas County residence the morning on Nov. 10.
“The call you are about to witness is true,” the DCSO said in the video release. “The names of turkeys involved have been changed to protect the innocent… call him Tom.”
According to investigators, Tom allegedly broke through the window of a local residence and entered the home without the owner’s permission.
The homeowner contacted the DCSO, resulting in Douglas County Sheriff’s Master Deputy Dunkle and Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Bonner responding to the scene.
Bodycam footage showed the feathered suspect squaring off with the deputies inside an upstairs bedroom.
“Let’s just see what we got. He’s a little fired up, too,” one deputy noted. “Hey, fella. What you doing, old man? What are you doing up here?”
The deputy then admitted that this was his first line-of-duty encounter with a wild turkey.
“He’s staring at me,” the second deputy nervously responded. “I don’t like it.”
His partner assured him that Tom wouldn’t hurt him “too bad.”
The deputies tossed a blanket over the intruder and tried to take him into custody, but Tom resisted their efforts and took off across the room, leaving feathers in his wake.
After unsuccessfully attempting to escape through a closed window, the suspect jumped up onto a nearby bed.
One of the deputies was then able to approach him from behind and deployed the blanket yet again, this time successfully subduing the combative bird.
“You’ve got enough feathers in here for a feather duster!” one deputy told the homeowner after Tom had been apprehended.
The deputies escorted the wild home intruder out to a wooded area beside the residence and turned him loose, bodycam footage showed.
“In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Sheriff [Jay] Armbrister has pardoned a Douglas County turkey from any criminal damage charges,” the DCSO said. “Thanks to the quick thinking and good work of Master Deputy Dunkle and Deputy Bonner, they were able to safely remove the bird from inside the home and set him free.”
The sheriff’s office said it is “thankful for the work of our deputies and their efforts to go above and beyond for the community.”
Watch the incident unfold in the video below:
Sandy Malone
