VIDEO: Dashcam Shows ASP Trooper Running Over Geese After Highway 57 Response

CABOT, Ark. — Newly obtained Arkansas State Police dash camera video shows more of the moments surrounding an incident that drew attention over the weekend after a civilian video showed a trooper running over a gosling on Highway 57 between Cabot and Jacksonville.

The dash camera video, obtained on Tuesday, May 26, by NEA Report through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows Trooper Christopher Weatherly responding to the scene May 24 after geese and goslings were reported in the roadway. Weatherly was identified in records provided to NEA Report.

The video lasts about 17 minutes and appears to show the trooper spending time watching the geese and making calls before the animals were struck. Civilian video that circulated online showed the first gosling being run over. The dash camera video appears to show Weatherly later backing up and running over another gosling after the civilian video ended.

Several minutes of footage were muted before the police turned the video over. According to Cindy Murphy from ASP, “Redactions were made to remove ACIC information from this video.”

Arkansas State Police told KATV the agency was aware of the video, which showed a trooper on Highway 57 near the 15-mile marker. ASP said the trooper was dispatched at about 9:30 a.m. because geese were in the roadway, which had barriers on both sides, making it difficult for the birds to leave.

“The Trooper made every effort to coax the geese out of the roadway as motorists slowed down and stopped, which created the potential for vehicles to wreck,” ASP said in the statement to KATV. “Unfortunately, two goslings perished. Of course, this was not the result the Trooper hoped for.”

ASP said troopers are often called to remove wildlife from roadways and try to preserve animals while protecting motorists.

Col. Mike Hagar, director of Arkansas State Police, also addressed the incident in a lengthy Facebook post, saying he had seen the photos and video and did not like seeing it “anymore than any other decent human being.”

Hagar compared the situation to a fatal 2017 crash on Interstate 40 at Mayflower, where he said three generations of one family were killed after slowing unexpectedly on the interstate and being struck from behind. Hagar said unexpected slowing or stopping on high-speed roadways can quickly become deadly.

“There is nothing quite as dangerous as the Interstate slowing or stopping unexpectedly,” Hagar wrote.

Hagar said wildlife on the roadway can cause drivers to swerve, crash or slow and stop while others take photos or videos, creating danger for approaching motorists. He said the trooper tried to remove the geese from the roadway, called for Game and Fish and helped good Samaritans who had also stopped.

“In this situation, the Trooper tried for 26 minutes to get these geese off the interstate,” Hagar wrote. “He called for Game and Fish, they weren’t available. He exhausted his known options, not really a game plan for this scenario.”

Hagar also wrote that the trooper had been instructed to shoot the birds almost immediately after arriving because it was considered the safest option for people in the area. He described the situation as a “lose-lose scenario.”

“We will proudly choose human life over water fowl,” Hagar wrote.

The incident drew criticism online after the civilian video circulated, with some commenters calling for disciplinary action against the trooper. Hagar pushed back on the criticism, saying the decision had to be viewed through the lens of traffic safety and the risk of a serious crash.

“This sucks, we all hate it,” Hagar wrote. “But c’mon folks, we have to be adults sometimes.”

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