Cow moose shot after charge in Garfield

A cow moose which became agitated while officers were trying to drive her out of Garfield was shot by WDFW Officer Doug King Saturday when the animal began to charge. The cow was with a calf which was found deceased in a yard at Garfield.

King and a Garfield officer loaded the dead moose calf onto King’s truck. The cow moose left the scene but stopped in the front yard of another residence.

According to the WDFW report residents at that house began to bang on their windows, and when officers told them to stop the homeowner came out on her porch and began to yell at the officers. Despite being told several times to go back inside, she came out on her porch and then her small dog came outside and onto the lawn. The homeowner, oblivious to commands from law enforcement and with the cow moose behind her, proceeded to walk out on her lawn to retrieve her small dog. As she was retrieving her dog, the agitated cow moose began to charge. The homeowner stepped back onto her porch, and the moose changed targets and headed towards Officer King who dispatched the moose with his firearm.

Colfax Fire Department staffers processed the game meat from the cow moose, and Whitman County Sheriff Office chaplain assisted in donating moose meat to needy families in the area and to the Garfield Food Bank.

A necropsy will be done on the calf to determine the cause of death.