Police officers are often tasked with having to rescue people, and occasionally animals, in a variety of scenarios.
This past Friday, though, two RCMP officers in Clinton were involved in a likely once-in-a-lifetime incident: Freeing a large hawk trapped behind the grille of a full-sized pick-up truck.
According to police, a motorist pulled into the Clinton detachment, urgently asking for help.
The female driver had been travelling north on Highway 97, just south of Clinton, when she said a large bird suddenly emerged from the ditch and took flight into the front of her truck.
“Somehow, the massive hawk managed to get trapped in behind the front grille of the woman’s Toyota Tundra,” said RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey.
“The now-stressed-out bird-of-prey was unable to escape and the motorist attended the local RCMP detachment for aid.”
O’Donaghey said the moment Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Brandon Buliziuk and Clinton detachment commander Const. Marika Masters loosened the front grille, the hawk took flight.
The incident was captured on video.
“The police officers had a blanket on standby and were prepared to provide care to the bird had it been injured and unable to fly away as a result,” said O’Donaghey.
The hawk, however, did not appear to be injured, as it quickly gained altitude and flew away.
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