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MODESTO-

Monday night was a first for Modesto Police.

Officers were called out to capture a young deer that ran into the 9th street Forever Yours Home Furnishing store.

WATCH: Deer Runs Loose in Modesto Furniture Store

Police struggled for nearly an hour to catch it. It wasn’t until he crashed into a window that officers were able to wrap a catch pole around his neck.

“We are not equipped with the tools to handle a wildlife situation,” Modesto Police spokesperson Heather Graves.

Modesto Police called Stanislaus County Animal Services to help with the deer, but they weren’t able to reach anyone.

They later found out they had been calling the wrong people for help. They should have been calling the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“This is our first deer in the city. So we probably didn’t just know who to call. We thought county would be a good resource, since they deal with more outlying areas, rural areas, they would maybe respond to something like this,” said Graves.

The deer appeared to be injured after it was caught.

Cops called supervisors on duty, who told them the best course of action would be to euthanize the animal.

“It did go up the chain, and it ended up at the watch commanders office and went back down and that was the best course of action,” said Graves.

They were also told how to do it. Contrary to prior reports made by witnesses, only one cut to the neck was made.

“The officer cut the main artery in the neck area and that was the extent of that,” said Graves.

Modesto Police Call Wrong Agency During Deer Chase
Faced with a strange situation, Modesto Police say Stanislaus County Animal Services was the wrong agency to call as a young deer ran loose in a furniture store.
Courtesy: Teresa Loredo

We showed Andrew Hughan with Fish and Wildlife, the deer video and asked him what the agency would have done, had it gotten the call.

“Those situations are so unique. And police officers are faced with all kinds of bizarre situations. If we could have gotten there we would have given advice certainly and taken whatever action we could have at the time with the circumstances but it’s pretty hard to say what we would have actually done,” Hughan.

Hughan says all Fish and Wildlife officers are equipped with stun guns that can be used on animals.

He says he stands by the decisions officers made in this situation.

“We completely 100 percent support that officers decision, we’re never going to say you should’ve, could’ve done this or could have done that,” said Hughan.