A Cedartown police officer shot and killed HeeHaw, a one-year-old miniature donkey in Polk County, Georgia. Body-camera footage of the incident exists, but it has not been released to the public.

Cedartown is a city in Polk County in northwest Georgia governed by an elected City Commission, currently chaired by Sam Branch. We are asking Chairman Branch and the Cedartown City Commission to support transparency in this case.

The officer's written incident report has now been made public and states that HeeHaw charged toward members of the tracking team and that the officer fired because he believed the donkey posed a threat.

The public should be allowed to see the evidence for itself.

We are asking Cedartown city officials to support the release of the non-graphic portion of the body-camera footage showing the events leading up to the shooting. We are not asking for footage showing HeeHaw being killed, nor are we asking city officials to prejudge the officer or interfere with the independent investigation.

If the footage supports the officer's account, let it provide that clarity. If it raises additional questions, the public deserves those answers.

Release the footage. Let the evidence speak.