Oregon deputy fatally shoots chimpanzee that attacked woman
A deputy in Pendleton, Oregon, shot and killed a pet chimpanzee named Buck on Sunday morning after it attacked and severely injured a woman.
Authorities were called to a home at around 8 a.m. local time on June 20 after the owner of the chimpanzee, 68-year-old Tamara Brogoitti, called 911 and reported it escaped from its cage and bit her daughter, according to KAPP-KVEW.
The chimpanzee owner requested Ward to shoot and kill it, according to Lt. Sterrin Ward with the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, who said the 50-year-old daughter sustained several bites to her torso, arms, and legs.
In audio from the 911 call, a dispatcher is heard asking a woman if she is applying pressure to the wound.
"I'm trying to guard her from a 200-pound ape, so I can't really put pressure on it, ma'am," the caller said.
Ward said when deputies arrived, the victim was trapped under a fenced-off area resembling a cage underneath the home and needed immediate medical support. Body camera footage, released by the sheriff's office, shows an officer taking aim with his gun and firing a single bullet at the ape and saying, "He's down."
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Ward confirmed the chimpanzee was shot in the head and died. Both Brogoitti and her daughter were taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.
PETA released a statement on June 21 saying the group warned state authorities Brogoitti created a "ticking time bomb" by engaging in direct contact with a "dangerous ape."
The animal rights group claimed Brogoitti "had long deprived the highly social animal of the companionship of other chimpanzees and kept him as a 'pet.'"
Brogoitti had the animal in her possession for around 17 years, according to a local CBS affiliate.
Ownership of exotic animals in Oregon is illegal unless the owner is licensed through the U.S. Agriculture Department or the owner has a valid Oregon exotic animal permit obtained before 2010, according to a state government webpage.
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The Washington Examiner contacted Buck Brogoitti Animal Rescue INC, but a woman on the phone declined to comment. A representative from the sheriff's department did not immediately return a response.
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Tags: News, Animals, Oregon, Law Enforcement, Police
Original Author: Kaelan Deese
Original Location: Oregon deputy fatally shoots chimpanzee that attacked woman
