Boulder residents hold vigil for dead elk

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BOULDER, Colo., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Hundreds of Boulder, Colo., residents showed up at a candlelight vigil to mourn the loss of a bull elk that was recently killed by a police officer.

The vigil was held Sunday night on Mountain View Road, near where the elk was shot, the Boulder Daily Camera reported.

"He was a beautiful animal," said Nancy Platt of Boulder. "He was hurting nobody. He didn't deserve what he got."

The elk was shot by a Boulder police officer, who has since been placed on paid leave pending an investigation. Another officer was also placed on paid leave for allegedly loading the animal's body into a pickup truck and taking it away to be processed for meat.

Vigil organizer Jim Riemersma said he wanted to give the neighborhood "a little bit of closure."

"I know a lot of us have had a lot of anger, a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty," Riemersma said. "Tonight's a celebration, a celebration of the elk. We loved him. But I think he loved us, too, because he returned to this neighborhood."