Cobb County police officers were called to the scene where something had gone a little a-“fowl.” A wild turkey was standing in the middle of Milford Church Road and wouldn’t move. The bird, which officers named Henry, wasn’t in any mood to cooperate. When an officer tried to shoo him off the road, Henry chased him instead. And it was all captured on video.
Body and dash camera footage shows Henry going after the officers, stalking them around their own patrol cars. The chase goes on for several minutes, and it seems Henry has no intention of getting out of the way. Police tried air horns and a few careful maneuvers to move him along. None of it worked, though. At one point an officer can be heard asking, “Oh, why does he keep coming after me?”
The officers never managed to move Henry themselves. He left the road on his own a few minutes later, after they had given up and were laughing about it. No one was hurt in the standoff.
Cobb County police shared the footage on social media later that week. The department leaned into the comedy, writing Henry up as an uncooperative suspect who wasn’t friendly with the officer trying to move him. The clip spread quickly and got picked up by news stations across the Atlanta area.
Why Was Henry So Aggressive?
Wild turkeys, especially males, can get surprisingly aggressive. During the breeding season, toms (male turkeys) compete for dominance and will challenge anything they see as a rival. That can include people, pets, and even cars.
Turkeys also have a habit of going after their own reflections. They’ve also attacks shiny doors or windows because they see another bird staring back, not realizing it’s them. In suburban areas where they are used to people, they tend to lose much of their natural caution. Once a tom like Henry decides someone is a threat, backing down usually isn’t on his agenda.
What Are You Supposed to Do About a Turkey in the Road?
There aren’t really rules on how to get a turkey out of the road. Wildlife experts generally suggest giving an aggressive bird space rather than trying to grab or corner it, since that tends to make a territorial tom more determined. In most cases the bird loses interest and wanders off on its own. Henry eventually did just that.
Calls about animals in the road are common for police, even if turkeys chasing officers are not. Departments usually share the funnier ones, as we often do here as well. For Cobb County, Henry gave them a call that ended with a laugh. But if you happen upon a turkey doing the same thing, you should let the professionals handle it.