Kansas deputy out of hospital after being gored, flung 10 feet by bison
A Kansas deputy who was thrown 10 to 12 feet in the air when he was gored by a bison has been released from the hospital, the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday in a Facebook post.
The bison was put down by another deputy during the August 7 attack and officers think he was the same bison who fatally gored its owner, who was found dead in a row of trees the next day. A woman called 911 and said her nephew, 56-year-old Scott Schroeder, was found dead in a pen that is about a quarter-mile from where the deputy was gored by a loose bison, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Schroeder kept about 20 bison at that location.
Sheriff’s office administrative assistant Mariana Kinnard said deputy Jerry Slaight, who had been gored, is in “very high spirits ... has a sense of humor and he seems to be doing well so far.” Kinnard was unsure of the extent of his injuries.
She said he was released from the hospital a couple of days after the attack, but didn’t know exactly when. She said there have been talks about doing a fundraiser, but Slaight is “very humble” and his family has said they don’t want monetary donations.
Community members have been doing a meal train, she said.
Around 6:38 p.m. on August 7, Slaight responded to a call about bison on the loose near 5th Road and K-4, which is just north of Bushton. He got out of his vehicle and went to look for a pasture gate.
“The bison had not seen him yet,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “Slaight said that when the bison did see him, he charged him so fast he was unable to retreat to his patrol car in time. The bison hit Deputy Slaight in the chest knocking him to the ground. Slaight was able to get to his feet and the bison charged him a second time, goring him in the left thigh while tossing him 10 to 12 feet into the air.”
A Rice County deputy who responded to the scene shot the bison when it “appeared that it was preparing to charge at the down deputy,” the post says.
He was taken to Salina Regional Health Center and underwent surgery.
Just after 9 a.m. on August 8, officers were called about a woman saying she found her nephew dead. A coroner ruled that he was gored by an animal, the sheriff’s office said.
Bison can be domesticated but still can be prone to attack.
“Bison are wild animals and they are very dangerous,” Kinnard said. “Bison are fairly more territorial and aggressive than cattle are.”
