WOODBURY, MN (WNN) – When Officer Andrew Mattson of the Woodbury Police Department got the call about an injured bald eagle on the shoulder of Woodbury Drive, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do, but public safety was top of mind, followed by the bird’s safety, and finally his own.
Suffice it to say, “Injured eagle rescue” is not a standard part of police officer training, so Mattson improvised quickly, heeded some of the advice of bystanders, and called for back-up.
“To be honest, when I showed up to the area in which the eagle was located, I had no idea how I was going to handle him!” Mattson said this week. “There were a couple of bystanders who provided suggestions, which I listened to, so I am grateful they were there as I wrangled the bird up to get him help. I have never received any formal training as to how to handle an injured bird, specifically one as large as an eagle.”
When the request for help came from the dispatcher, and Mattson responded, his initial plan, he said, “was to assess how injured the bird was and attempt to pick him up, and if he struggled at all I was going set him back down carefully on the median in order to keep him out of traffic and in order to avoid any further injury that may have happened if I continued to hold him while he struggled to get away from me.”
Also responding to the call was Cadet Niklas Johnson in a Community Service Officer squad car. When they arrived, the eagle was lying on the shoulder of Woodbury Drive, one of Woodbury’s busiest, and fastest, roadways. “Cadet Johnson and I had activated our emergency lights to warn oncoming traffic that we were there so that we, other bystanders, and the eagle were not struck by traffic.” At no time, though, did they feel they were in a dangerous situation. “It felt no different than being in the roadway while investigating a motor vehicle accident or traffic stop,” Mattson said.
Police officers don’t carry the long-sleeved leather gloves needed to handle birds of prey in their squad cars, but Community Service Officers do, so Johnson provided Mattson with the gloves to handle the bird safely.
“I definitely was cautious upon initially holding the eagle as he was pretty big and the talons were large (and sharp!),” Mattson said. “The eagle did not show any struggle when I picked him up, so I could tell he seemed to be in a substantial amount of pain. After getting him out of traffic, I was able to contact and coordinate with the UMN Raptor Center, and they were able to send a member of their organization to the area where we were located to bring the eagle into their care.”
Asked how it felt to be somewhat of a hero in the eyes of many eagle lovers in Woodbury, Mattson responded: “It is pretty cool to see how much of the community has supported the injured bird and cared for his recovery. I myself am an eagle lover, so it was a pretty surreal experience to be able to handle one.”
Mattson said he’s not aware of any other officers on the force having handled a bald eagle before. “Our Community Service Officers have responded to other calls for injured birds of prey such as hawks and owls, but never an eagle. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget!
