Boulder Police Officer Sam Carter poses with the elk he shot with his service gun while on duty. (Credit: KCNC)

Two Boulder police officers have been charged for shooting and killing an elk.

The incident outraged residents of the Mapleton Hill neighborhood, who called the officers' alleged actions cruel and unnecessary. The elk was a familiar face in the neighborhood, having been spotted roaming the area on numerous occasions prior to the January shooting.

"It makes me sick, it just makes me sick. It was a beautiful animal," postal carrier Mark Rourke told sister station KCNC.

Officer Sam Carter is accused of shooting the elk, then posing for a picture with it before giving the body to a second officer, Brent Curnow. The Boulder Chief of Police said Curnow was going to take the body home to process the meat.

Carter said he shot the elk because it was injured and needed to be "humanely euthanized."

Both men face several charges, including forgery, tampering with evidence, conspiracy and killing an elk out of season. They are scheduled to be back in court in April.