Roger the rooster made himself known in the Fort Lauderdale Riverside Park neighborhood, with crows that echoed through the streets.

“Roger is our beloved rooster, he’s the neighborhood rooster,” said Jamie Carr, who took Roger in as a pet when the bird showed up on his doorstep two years ago. “He hunts insects, plays with birds, basic rooster stuff. He’s just a character. 12 p.m. every day, he’d be on that fence on the button, cock-a-doodle-doing, and that would go on throughout the day.”

Roger lived behind Carr’s business on the southwest side of Riverside Park along Southwest 12th Avenue and 6th Street. 

Back on April 15, he took his usual flight over the fence and approached someone who wasn’t happy to see him. Surveillance video shows a man going after Roger with a bag, and later hitting the bird multiple times with an umbrella. 

“He had ample opportunity to walk away. Just push him away,” Carr said, reacting to the video. “He actually went to his car, got the umbrella out of his car after he was already gone and went and beat him like 2-3 times.”

Carr can’t believe someone could be so cruel.

“It was such a brutal and unnecessary beating,” Carr said. “We saw him underneath a woodpile. Usually, he is the most confident, energetic creature, but he was hiding under the woodpile. We knew it was pretty serious.”

Roger suffered a broken wing and a broken leg. He needed surgery and is on the mend now, three weeks later.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is actively investigating this as an aggravated animal cruelty case. Those who live in Riverside Park hope officers find who hurt him. 

“We’ve had 10 people come by asking about him, major outrage. This guy messed with the wrong rooster,” Carr said.

As for Roger, he won’t return to Riverside Park. Carr says he’s looking for a farm for the bird to live on, as he feels that is a safer option.