Harrisonburg-Rockingham Commonwealth’s Attorney Marsha Garst has determined that the shooting of a Harrisonburg Police officer responding to an animal complaint was “accidental.”
Bradley Boyce was shot by an unnamed officer while responding to an animal complaint on Sunday.
Boyce was transported to UVA Medical Center for treatment of injuries in the shooting, but has since been released and is recovering, according to a press release from the Harrisonburg PD.
“After a careful review of the evidence surrounding the shooting of MPO Bradley Boyce on March 21, 2021, I find that the shooting was accidental. The officer that shot MPO Boyce had been struck to the ground by the cow, and his firearm accidentally discharged as a result,” Garst said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Interim Police Chief Gabriel Camacho explained the department’s plans for improving its approach to handling calls involving uncontrolled large animals as follows.
“Moving forward, the HPD will be researching changes to policies and procedures to address issues dealing with large animals to include additional training on topics related to animal control,” Camacho said. “The department plans to meet with businesses in the city that handle livestock transactions to determine how to prevent future incidents of this nature.”
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