COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) — Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz said he received a very strange text message early on Christmas Eve morning.

He wrote in an email:

“I am sound asleep thinking about the upcoming Christmas events, spending time with your family and friends, enjoying some great food when I think I hear my phone go off with a text message at 1:45am.  I look at my phone in a half daze and think it reads something like, “Officer Benjamin involved in a crash after owl flies into his unit”.     Maybe this is just someone’s weird way of playing a joke on me in the middle of the night so I roll over and go back to sleep.  Surely nothing as outrageous as an owl flying into a police car could happen.  I imagined the next text would be that Santa Clause was spotted on Collins Blvd.

So, when I finally wake from my night’s sleep, once again, I look at my phone to see if I missed any calls or text during the night and sure enough there was a text at 1:45am announcing that “Officer Benjamin involved in a crash after owl flies into his unit.”  Maybe it wasn’t a dream, so I get to the office and review the body camera footage from the night before.  Surely if something at crazy as an owl flying into a police car happened, it would be on someone’s body camera.

And yes it was.   Turns out that Officer Lance Benjamin was patrolling the Savanah’s Subdivision with his window rolled down listening and looking for anything suspicious, when an owl flew into his open window.  The owl began scratching and pecking at Officer Benjamin causing him to briefly lose control of his police car, driving into a ditch.  Officer Benjamin suffered minor scratches and will probably need a new uniform shirt (and maybe pants).  After being checked out by medical personnel he returned to work to finish his shift with an amazing story to tell, and proof it happened.

Officers opened the door of the police car, and the owl flew off into the darkness.”

You can watch the video of the owl attack above.