Corrections Officer Charged in Death of Beloved Rooster

Carl the Rooster once roamed the streets of of downtown Ocean Springs, Mississippi
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 29, 2022 10:00 AM CDT

A corrections officer in Mississippi has been fired for her alleged role in the death of a town's most beloved rooster. Carl the Rooster was the most well-known bird in a band of chickens that has been roaming downtown Ocean Springs for years, the Clarion Ledger reports. After Carl vanished over the weekend, residents posted surveillance videos showing a group of people walking off with the bird. Kendra Shaffer, 35, was fired after she was interviewed by investigators from the Ocean Springs Police Department, reports the Laurel Leader-Call. Police believe she is the woman seen holding the bird in surveillance video taken around 3am Sunday.

The exact circumstances of Carl's demise are unclear. Shaffer was a juvenile corrections officer in Jones County, three counties away from Ocean Springs. She has been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty. "It is a sad day that someone would be so insensitive and do something so cruel,” Jones County Public Information Officer Lance Chancellor tells the Sun Herald. "We expect those individuals employed by the Jones County Sheriffs Department to perform their duties and live their lives in a professional and honorable manner," Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin said in a statement Thursday. " Her employment termination is immediate."

(More Mississippi stories.)

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