JACKSON, Mississippi—Officer Clyde Harris, a twelve-year veteran of the Jackson Police Department who earlier this year was exonerated after fatally shooting an unarmed black man, has admitted to colleagues and those closest to him that, even though he has faced intense criticism from various groups and individuals across the nation, he feels extremely fortunate that his victim wasn’t a beloved African lion.

Harris’s case, which was investigated by a grand jury who ultimately decided against indicting him, sparked nationwide outrage that launched widespread riots and racial tension and pales in comparison to the worldwide hatred currently being directed at a hunter who shot a widely loved male lion outside a Zimbabwe game reserve.

“I’ve learned a very valuable lesson by going through this,” Harris said, “There are always repercussions to our actions.  Anyone who aims a weapon at another living being had better make sure it is not an innocent, defenseless man-eating lion before pulling the trigger.”