County sheriff VS state trooper argue over cows and authority
5A Georgia farmer said he lost two mamas and three calves from heat and stress after a state trooper and a sheriff got into it over getting his 40-head of cattle loaded into another trailer.
According to a statement by Laurens County Sheriff Larry Dean, his office was contacted last month by a farmer whose trailer had broke down on I-16 with three blown tires and transmission issues. He had another trailer on the way and asked if deputies could assist with traffic so the cattle could be safety transferred. The farmer said the trailers would interlock together so there shouldn’t be any incident of the cattle getting loose.
Dean agreed to help and sent two deputies to the scene. After an hour, he called to check on the progress and learned a Georgia State Trooper they had flagged down to help with traffic wouldn’t allow the cattle to be transferred.
In his statement, Dean, a cattle farmer himself, said he became very upset because he knew the importance of getting the cattle off the trailer and helping to transfer livestock from one trailer to another is not uncommon for his deputies.