Covington Police officer Lance Benjamin had an unusual Christmas Eve thanks to an encounter with an owl during his patrol on the streets of a Louisiana subdivision that ultimately made him drive his patrol car into a ditch.
The police officer's patrol car windows were down when he felt something hit him hard in the face. After that, there was some scratching and pecking, which made the officer realize that a bird was attacking him.
Apparently, an owl entered through the window and attacked officer Benjamin with its wings, talons and beak, according to CNN.
Since the patrol car was only running at 10 mph, the officer's decision to swerve off the road did not cause him or the bird any harm.
"I tried to keep control of my car, went into a ditch, avoided some trees. Finally was able to stop the car put it in park get out and there he was just chilling out in the car," officer Benjamin said, according to Metro.
When he was able to safely get out of the car, he took a photo of the owl, which remained inside the car, showing no fear from the fact that it just assaulted a police officer.
After some time, the owl left officer Benjamin behind to let him finish his patrol shift.
Officer Benjamin only got minor scratches from the incident, which were mostly from the owl than from when his car crashed into a ditch.
