Police officer David Dean David refused to shoot dead a skunk that had bitten a six-year-old girl

A police officer has been suspended after refusing to shoot dead a skunk that had bitten a six-year-old girl.

David Dean, of Mount Carmel Police, Tennessee, was called out to kill the animal so it could be tested for rabies.

But he had to get a fireman to pull the trigger, saying he could not shoot a creature unless it was trying to eat him.

Dean, firefighter Ryan Christian and animal control officer Eddie Seabolt were first on the scene after the girl was bitten on July 27, the Kingsport Times-News reported.

As she was taken to hospital by her concerned family, Dean entered the property to shoot the animal dead - as in Mount Carmel only police officers are allowed to kill wild animals.

Mr Seabolt told the cop that he needed to kill the baby skunk - which was already injured - because he needed to test it for rabies.

But instead heoffered his gun to Mr Christian, who said he was happy to shoot the skunk but had not brought his weapon with him.

In a written statement, Dean said: 'It’s hard for me to shoot an animal unless it’s trying to eat me because it’s here for a purpose and really hard to shoot an animal when it’s injured.'

Dean continued: 'I stood and looked at the injured baby skunk. Chief Christian stated he would put the skunk down. Mr Christian took my service weapon and shot the baby skunk. Officer Seabolt then walked over to the skunk and placed it into a black trash bag.'

After tests, the skunk was found not to be rabid and the child was discharged from hospital.

However, an investigation was launched by the police after senior officers found out Dean had handed his gun to an unauthorized person.

Dean said he could not shoot the skunk (file picture) because he found it hard to shoot animals unless they are trying to eat him

Following the probe, Mount Carmel Police Department Chief Jeff Jackson suspended Dean without pay for three days and put him on probation for six months.

In a letter to the officer, he wrote: 'You failed to perform your duty as an officer for the Mount Carmel Police Department by refusing to put down an injured skunk that had bitten a small child, and you put the town in a liable situation by giving your duty weapon to an unauthorized person who discharged the weapon three times to accomplish the task.

'All turned out well in this instance, however actions of this nature will not be tolerated in the future.'

The investigation's final report also criticized Mr Christian and Mr Seabolt for not informing the authorities that Dean had not shot the skunk.