Fairfax County Police Watch: The arrogance of power

Minnesota police chief decapitates boy's pet chicken; complaint filed

ATWATER, Minn. -- An Atwater woman has filed a formal complaint against the Atwater police chief for trespassing on her property and killing her young son's pet chicken -- leaving the hen's decapitated head just feet from the backyard chicken coop.

Ashley Turnbull said she knows she violated the city's ordinance that prohibits fowl and acknowledges she was told Aug. 7 by police to remove the three chickens and two ducks.

But she said Police Chief Trevor Berger went too far when he came onto her property about a week later, when nobody was home, and clubbed, killed and decapitated a small, red hen with a shovel.

"The chicken was like a puppy dog to my son," said Turnbull. "You wouldn't do that to a puppy."

Berger said he was simply enforcing the city ordinance that has been on the books since 1960 and was responding to a "frustrated' neighbor's repeated complaints, including a report on Aug. 16 that one of Turnbull's chickens was running loose in the residential area near the elementary school.

"I'm sorry it had to happen that way," said Berger, adding that he didn't intend to leave the severed chicken head in the yard to send a message to the homeowners.

Ashley Turnbull said she knows she violated the city's ordinance that prohibits fowl and acknowledges she was told Aug. 7 by police to remove the three chickens and two ducks.

But she said Police Chief Trevor Berger went too far when he came onto her property about a week later, when nobody was home, and clubbed, killed and decapitated a small, red hen with a shovel.

"The chicken was like a puppy dog to my son," said Turnbull. "You wouldn't do that to a puppy."

"I'm sorry it had to happen that way," said Berger, adding that he didn't intend to leave the severed chicken head in the yard to send a message to the homeowners.