For some reason, four-legged animals always seem to end up in Sgt. Adam Cooper’s patrol car.
Cooper, a 10-year employee with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, is notorious for rescuing animals – especially baby animals – while patrolling York County roads.
Whether it means ushering turtles and geese to the side of the road, or taking a baby deer to a wildlife rescue, Cooper does it all.
Although Cooper’s day-to-day duties take place inside the sheriff’s office building, including analyzing crime statistics and working on computer systems, the 37-year-old said he comes across wildlife frequently when working overtime shifts on patrol.
“We have plenty of deputies who find turtles, but not as many find deer or raccoons, for some reason,” Cooper said, smiling. Cooper said he has saved “a couple” deer, three raccoons and dozens of turtles since he first became a law enforcement officer in 2001.
Cooper collects intel on crimes, compiles data and analyzes crime trends. Part of his job involves sharing intelligence with other nearby agencies and working with them on cases, he said.
Cooper used to work in Newport News on a high-impact patrol unit in a precinct with a higher crime rate, he said. While he no longer works in a patrol unit like the one in Newport News, he said he comes across many more animals while on the job in York County.
Over the last year, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office has posted at least four times about Cooper’s animal rescue missions.
“He’s always on the lookout for the animals, though,” Sheriff Danny Diggs said of Cooper.
Just over a year ago, on June 19, 2016, Cooper rescued a fawn from the middle of Route 17. Cooper was working security at York County High School at night when he heard the deer bleating from the road.
Its mother had been hit by a car the day before, Cooper later learned, leaving the baby deer on its own.
Cooper put the deer in the backseat of his vehicle and turned the heater on while waiting for animal control to transport the animal to an emergency veterinarian. The deer was taken to a wildlife rescue facility.
On May 25, Cooper stopped his vehicle to direct a flock of Canadian geese across a road.
Several days later, on June 1, Cooper came across two young raccoons in the middle of the road. The mother wasn’t in sight, so Cooper put the raccoons in his Ford Explorer. While he waited, he saw a third raccoon come out of nearby bushes.
He transported all three to an emergency veterinarian, then eventually went to another wildlife rescue, he said.
On June 15, Cooper was on his way back from lunch with sheriff’s office spokesperson Capt. Dennis Ivey when they saw a turtle in the road.
“Ivey just witnessed Sgt. Cooper save another turtle trying to cross Cook Road,” a sheriff’s office Facebook post said. “He is the turtle whisperer.”
Born in Newport News, Cooper has always been an animal lover, he said. He and his wife have three dogs and two cats, one of which is a hairless Sphynx cat. All of their animals are rescues.
Cooper said he and his wife would probably run a rescue facility if they could.
Ivey said sheriff’s office employees joke with Cooper about his knack for finding animals in need of help.
Cooper also jokes about the frequent rescue missions.
“Portsmouth is trying to outdo me,” Cooper said, referring to recent news coverage about Portsmouth officers rescuing “a zoo’s worth of animals.”
Although Cooper is always willing to help wild animals, Ivey cautioned civilians to “use their best judgement” when trying to save an animal.
“But with all the devastation you see in life, it’s these types of things that really make it better,” Ivey said.
Fearing may be reached [email protected].
Read more profiles of local residents in WYDaily’s section In Our Hometown.
