Few days in recent memory can compare to the surreal nature of the events that went down last Friday.
Reporters throughout the Capital District slowly converged on an unseasonably cold April morning – with occasional snowflakes – across the street from a Selkirk home, behind which more than a dozen farm bred bison were loosely corralled by law enforcement officers.
The call for bison in this area was surprising enough. To hear they swam the span of a winter melt pregnant Hudson River out of Schodack near tipped the scales of belief, until the herd emmerged from the woods. One thousand pounds when mature, twice the speed of Usain Bolt when provoked to run, these beautiful animals appeared more stoic than posturing to intimidate anyone.
They posed a threat, nonetheless. For that reason, all of them were shot and killed by their owner shortly after noon.
The spectacle caught the attention of people over the Internet. Eventually, it caught the eye of a nation, with headlines reaching as far as San Francisco before the end of the day.
Animal sympathizers and online pundits quickly turned on the perceived barbaric behavior of Bethlehem Police, the Albany County Sherriff’s office and everyone else involved, with little regard of the facts. The hashtag #bisonlivesmatter became popular throughout all social media. Some took to attacking Albany County Sherriff Craig Apple in particular. All questioned why they did not use tranquilizers.
People are quick to judge, and have placed significant focus on the actions of police agencies in recent months; some of which, justifiably so, while others, completely unfair. Fact is, this situation was loosely controlled despite the best efforts of local police agencies. In addition to managing a 15,000-pound mass of fear and confusion, they concerned themselves over the safety of reporters and curious residents, some of which children, numbering close to 100. The worst case scenario was the herd causing a potential nightmare accident on the New York State Thruway.
Throughout the morning, police officials expressed killing the animals would be the last course of action. Police are not farm hands. They’re not trained to handle cattle. They did, however, show more restraint than what people are giving them credit for, having spent hours on the scene without brandishing their weapons. Once the herd escaped and trekked throughout South Bethlehem, the danger to society escalated. Between the potential of voyeurs being trampled and distracted drivers causing accidents, there should have been more people hurt by their own foolish actions. Thankfully, that did not happen.
Fact is, the owner said tranquilizers would not work. Cornell Cooperative Extension agreed. Experts all said sedation would not work. In the end, the police did not want to pull the trigger. In the end, they didn’t. The owner’s men ended the day. In the end, no one wanted this.
The police did their jobs, and did it well. For once, leave them alone.
