A police officer in Louisiana crashed his patrol car on Christmas Eve, all thanks to an unwelcome passenger.
It was supposed to be a routine overnight patrol for the officer, until he came across a perpetrator like no other.
"As I was exiting the subdivision, going about 10 miles an hour, suddenly I felt something hit the left side of my face,” Officer Lance Benjamin of the Covington Police Department said. “So I’m thinking, okay maybe it was a football or something. And then I felt some scratching on the back of my head and some pecking."
An owl flew right into his open driver’s side window, and made himself right at home.
"Slapped me a few times with his wings, kept on going with his talons," Benjamin said.
The entire scene was captured on Officer Benjamin’s body camera.
"I tried to keep control of my car, went into a ditch, avoided some trees,” he said. “Finally was able to stop the car, put it in park, get out, and there he was just chilling out in the car."
Thankfully, no one was hurt and there was only minor damage to the cruiser.
"We rolled down the passenger side window, and after about 45 minutes he finally flew out," Benjamin said.
Now, thanks to his fellow officers, he has a permanent partner in crime for those late night ride-alongs.
"That’s my good luck charm from now on, hopefully I don’t have to have any more owl encounters,” Benjamin said. “I bet he got a hoot out of that."
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