By M.J. MAHON

Bloomsburg Press Enterprise Writer

Two farm turkeys harassed a blind woman and a police officer in Columbia County, ending with the officer shot the fowl Sunday evening.

Ridge Crest Drive resident Shirley Kachurka, 53, who police say is legally blind, was out for a walk with her dog near her home Easter Sunday around 6 p.m. when two turkeys began following her near Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, a police report says.

Kachurka told police she could hear the birds making sounds and “flapping their wings in an aggressive manner,” the report says.

Township Police Chief Bill Richendrfer describes the behavior as “flopping” - when turkeys spread their wings and make contact using their chests.

Kachurka became scared and called the police for help, according to the report.

South Centre Officer Mason Dabulis found the woman in the school’s parking lot with her dog, trying to keep the turkeys at a distance by waving her cane at them.

Kachurka told Dabulis her dog had pulled her into the parking lot after the turkeys approached.

She yelled to the officer she was scared the turkeys wouldn’t leave her alone.

Dabulis says in a report the turkeys were aggressive and one hissed as he and Kachurka tried to back away.

Turkeys give chase

Dabulis reported he, Kachurka and the dog took cover behind his police car before the birds rounded the car and began to chase them again.

Dabulis hoped if they continued to round the car, the turkeys would lose interest, he wrote in his report.

“The faster Kachurka and I walked around the vehicle, the faster the turkeys became,” he states. “As we were walking around the patrol car, I tried to stop and hit the unlock button so that I could put Kachurka and her dog in the back of my patrol car.”

The turkeys proved too fast, and the birds, Dabulis and Kachurka continued to circle the car.

Woman tries to escape

Kachurka opened the front passenger door of the patrol car to escape the fowl, but the turkeys were close behind her, so she walked toward the sidewalk while Dabulis stood in the parking lot.

Then one of the two birds charged Dabulis, so he shot his firearm at the turkey, stunning it, he wrote.

The second turkey then began to peck at the head of the wounded bird, so he fired again to end the wounded bird’s suffering.

The remaining bird “began to act aggressively again so I proceeded to put it down,” he wrote.

Kachurka told him she thought the birds belonged to someone in the area before continuing her walk.

Police later identified the bird owners as Sweppenheiser Drive residents Thomas Davis and his mother, whom police did not identify.

Chief Richendrfer says it is breeding season for turkeys, and they are known to become aggressive this time of year.

He also reminds residents turkeys aren’t any different from other farm animals or pets.

“Like any other farm animal, you have to keep them on your property,” he said Monday.

No one was cited in the incident, Richendrfer says. He said Dabulis had used his firearm appropriately.