Salt Lake City police investigate deaths of peafowl, as residents push for charges

SALT LAKE CITY — Residents of a Salt Lake City neighborhood are pushing for the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office to charge a man they say has intentionally killed wild peafowls that serve as the area’s mascot.

Salt Lake City police confirmed to KSL that they received a report last week identifying a potential suspect accused of killing multiple peafowl in Poplar Grove, whom they are currently investigating for potential crimes. The individual’s name was not released.

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Their investigation began when a group of residents and supporters of Poplar Grove recently launched an online petition urging Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill to charge an individual who they say has harassed the free-roaming peafowl that have been a neighborhood fixture for nearly a century.

In it, they say a series of events began on May 3. A black Toyota Tacoma was captured on video hitting and killing a peacock on a neighborhood street near a school “while traveling at a high rate of speed,” residents said. The vehicle never stopped after hitting the bird.

Three additional birds have been hit and killed since then, all in the same area. A resident ultimately confronted the driver of the Tacoma last week, urging them to slow down and stop killing the birds, the group added.

“The resident explained that the peafowl have been part of the Poplar Grove community for nearly 100 years. The driver stated they did not care and admitted that he had been intentionally hitting the birds with his vehicle,” the group wrote. “He further stated that he intended to continue doing so.”

A school employee was able to track down the vehicle’s license plate on Friday, which is when Salt Lake City police got involved.

The group is calling on Gill to review all of the evidence, including video footage and witness testimony, and “file all appropriate criminal charges” related to it.

Investigators were aware of incidents in May, but did not have any suspect information, said Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Greg Wilking. They are now sorting through the information they received last week and trying to determine jurisdiction and other elements. It’s partly complicated because of the species, he said.

Many animal species are protected by Utah law beyond game animals, but the state’s list does not include peafowl. Leon and Leonne Brown, who owned a local flower shop, brought peafowls to the neighborhood in the 1940s and 1950s. The birds ultimately became intertwined with the neighborhood and roam freely like wildlife in the area.

Poplar Grove adopted them as the neighborhood mascot, and residents care for and protect the birds. The neighborhood peafowl were recently immortalized in new art on the 400 South Viaduct Bridge and in a new neighborhood mural.

But since they are not considered protected wildlife, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources usually directs cases to counties or animal control, said Faith Heaton Jolley, the division’s spokesperson. It’s possible the case could be referred to Salt Lake County Animal Services for potential charges, Wilking said.

“It makes it all difficult to figure out,” he said. “Now that we have stuff to follow up on, the question is, ‘Who does that belong to?’ … There’s a lot of layers to this.”

Regardless of protection status, he said it’s “concerning” if someone is going around intentionally killing animals.

Daniel Tuutau, chair of the Poplar Grove Community Council, agrees. He said the neighborhood is still gathering information about the case, but it’s “worrisome” if someone is going around killing a species that has helped the neighborhood stand out.

“We are definitely concerned about any deaths of animals in our neighborhoods, but especially if there’s any kind of malicious intent,” he told KSL. “We do want to make sure that if this type of activity is happening in our neighborhood, that it’s stopped. … The peacocks are important to us, so we want to find whatever way we can to protect them.”

There’s no timetable for a decision on the case. Anyone with information about the peacock deaths is urged to contact police at 801-799-3000.

The group behind the petition is hopeful something will be filed quickly. Over 275 people had signed the petition as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Failing to act in this case risks sending a message that intentional cruelty and reckless endangerment can occur without consequence,” they wrote. “Our community deserves protection, and our shared heritage deserves respect.”

Contributing: Heather Peterson