BLOOMFIELD -- Bloomfield police say the man who killed an escaped cow in a Home Depot parking lot was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals.
The incident happened on July 13th when police say a cow managed to escape Saba Live Poultry, a butcher shop in Bloomfield. Employees from the shop managed to track the cow down, finding it by the loading dock at the Bloomfield Home Depot, according to police.
Bloomfield Officer Brendan Danaher arrived on scene in time to see one man try to shoot a bow and arrow at the cow. The man missed.
Danaher said that he then saw three of the employees grabbed onto the cow. Danaher said he thought the employees were going to restrain the animal. Instead, police say one of the employees pulled out a knife and cut the cow's throat.
Police bodycam footage showed the moments after it all played out. Officer Danaher can be heard issuing a ticket to Badr Musaed.
Tark Aouadi, a spokesman for Saba Live Poultry, admitted to FOX61's Dave Puglisi that killing the cow was not the best course of action, but in the heat of the moment, the employees were trying to get "a dangerous situation under control before matters got worse".
Bloomfield police say Musaed turned himself in Thursday after an arrest warrant was granted by the Bloomfield PD Animal Control, charging him with cruelty to animals.
Musaed was released after posting a $10,000 bond, and is set to appear in court later this month.
Following the incident, the State of Connecticut Department of Agriculture began an investigation into Saba Live Poultry and issued a cease-and-desist order.
They concluded that Saba Live Poultry improperly confined and cared for livestock and rabbits. Saying they failed to supply such animals with wholesome air, food, and water.
The Department of Agriculture also concluded the live poultry were not kept in sanitary conditions.
They noted during their investigation they found approximately 2,000 poultry, 30 rabbits, three sheep and three goats at the facility. They also turned away a shipment of about 100 goats and calves being delivered to the facility during their investigation.
On July 26th, the shop was allowed to reopen, providing they took the effort to correct the listed issues with the facility.