Durham Regional Police have released body camera footage from part of the capture of an escaped kangaroo that had been on the loose for three days in Oshawa, Ont.
“Due to the high level of public interest DRPS is releasing the body-worn camera footage,” police said on Tuesday, the day after the kangaroo was safely apprehended.
“The entire incident was not recorded – currently officers are not required to activate their cameras for interactions with kangaroos as per the DRPS directive (currently under roo-view).”
Police said the body camera recording was triggered when she nudged one of the officers.
The 4.5 minute video — with a timecode of 7:10 a.m. Monday — begins with officers kneeling down holding onto the kangaroo’s tail and petting her backside. One officer secures the marsupial with a leash around her neck while another continuously pets her.
After about 30 seconds, the kangaroo tries to get up and flee but the officers are able to hold her down saying, “you’re OK.”
After a couple of minutes of securing her and petting her, a police cruiser pulls up. Officers get the kangaroo into the back of the police car.
Police say during the body camera footage that she will be taken to the Oshawa Zoo and was on her way to Quebec before she escaped.
She was not injured during the capture, police said.
Staff Sgt. Chris Boileau told reporters on Monday, however, that one officer “was punched in the face by it but he’ll be OK.” It is unclear if the punch happened before or after the body camera footage was activated.
It was early Monday morning when two officers on patrol got a call about a kangaroo sighting.
“They ‘tailed’ her for nearly an hour before they managed to get close enough to grab her tail and secure her,” police said. “Fortunately, our officers had a crash course in kangaroo and were made aware that grabbing her by the tail was the safest, most effective way to secure her.”
The kangaroo had initially gone missing early Friday morning, according to a local pet group and a resident who reached out directly to Global News with video.
Several videos posted online showed what appeared to be a kangaroo standing at the end of a driveway, and others showed it hopping along the grass line beside the road.
Durham police said on Friday that a driver delivering two kangaroos to Quebec on Thursday had stopped at the Oshawa Zoo to let them “stretch their legs.”
That is when the kangaroo allegedly made its escape.
Police said they have searched for answers to this kangaroo’s name but “with no luck.” Police said they had given her an unofficial name because she took a ride in a K9 vehicle.
“Combining the names of the two officers who rescued her, DRPS welcomes Police Service ‘Roo’ Emy May.”
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