Needless to say, this is quite unusual. From the Kingman (Ariz.) Daily Miner:
Officers with the Kingman Police Department shot and killed a black bear in the 1700 block of Jefferson Avenue in Kingman Thursday morning, after the bear wandered into the city limits and reportedly attempted to break into residences, as well as one local post office. […]
“It’s my understanding that it came from Stockton Hill and crossed over into the post office area,” Fisk said. “There was a sighting reported behind the Silver Spoon restaurant (at 2011 Andy Devine Ave.).”
Fisk said KPD officers arrived on the scene within minutes and observed the bear attempting to get into a window of the post office. “We had officers on scene and they observed it at the post office, and then it was going through the alleyways and climbing fences, trying to gain entrance to residents’ homes.” he said. “It was acting in a very aggressive manner … the bear was pushing on a door trying to get into a house, and there were a lot of people out and about being inquisitive of what was going on.”
Police observed the bear crossing Stockton Hill Road to Jefferson Avenue, where it came precariously close to several bystanders. It was then that KPD Capt. Ray Sipe made the decision to have the bear shot rather than risk the public’s safety.
The report goes on to say that the bear was about a year old and weighed 175 pounds. The bear likely came from the Hualapai Mountains, about 25 miles south of Kingman.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department would have possessed a tranquilizer gun to help subdue the bear, but its officers didn’t arrive in Kingman in time. The agency supported officers’ decision to kill the bear.
“A bear going up on door steps and trying to get into houses is a public safety issue,” Mocarski said. “From my standpoint, the bear was running around and kind of doing what a bear would do. It was confused, and a confused bear is a dangerous one.”
(Hat tip: Jim Hinckley)
Why didn’t they just tazer it? At least that may have gotten the bear’s attention. Blowing an animal away, in broad daylight, seems like a rather bogus way to handle the situation. Maybe the police should consider carrying knock-out rounds or stun guns.
I seriously doubt those Taser barbs would have penetrated the bear’s thick fur. Plus there’s the uncertainty of whether the Taser would work at all against a bear. Shooting it with a Taser may have thrown it into a rage, which would have made the situation even more dangerous.