Dangerous, Aggressive, and Vicious cat story.
Posted on 02/28/2005 11:01:51 AM PST by Cagey
GILLESPIE -- Authorities admit they had to resort to a Taser to subdue a cat in a manner that is making fur fly around town.
Gillespie Police Chief Rick Hearn said Thursday morning that a cat fight ended earlier this month with one cat being Tasered then shot to death by police officers.
Hearn, who said his officers’ response was appropriate given the circumstances, said the incident began at 9:12 p.m. Feb. 9 when dispatch notified his son, part-time Gillespie police officer Rob Hearn, of a cat fight at the home of George Mull.
Rob Hearn called the Mull house and was told that two cats were fighting in the Mull garage and that one appeared badly hurt. When Hearn, joined by full-time officer Kevin Raymer, went to the house, Mull told them one cat had gone up into the rafters of the garage. The cat had lost an eye and was badly mangled, Mull told police.
Police said the officers attempted to use pepper spray to get the cat down, and when that failed, they called animal control officer Jessica Spangler and told her to bring her harness pole.
The officers attempted to net the cat with the harness pole, and when that failed, used a Taser gun on the animal.
"Once the animal was brought down, Jessica told the officers that the cat was so severely injured that she ordered the officers to shoot the cat. For safety reasons, the officers took the cat outside the city limits and shot it," Chief Hearn said.
A Taser is an electronic stun device. The electricity disrupts the sensor nervous system and the motor nervous system that carries commands from the brain to muscles to control movement. The handheld device projects two darts with the potential charge of thousands of volts of electricity, which can last five seconds. The capability of the instrument has drawn widespread praise and criticism. About 100 deaths have been linked to Taser use since 2000, according to published reports.
One Gillespie resident who heard of the incident was appalled that the officers used a Taser on a small animal and that the animal control officer had ordered the animal shot rather than taken to a veterinarian for either medical treatment or humane euthanasia.
"All of this concerns me greatly," the resident told the Telegraph in a letter. "I would hope that if my cat or dogs ever got out, that animal control and Gillespie’s officers would not kill it inhumanely. Instead, I hope they would capture it and allow me the allotted time to retrieve it."
The Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act does allow, in certain circumstances, animal control personnel, animal shelter employee or law enforcement agencies to humanely kill an animal that is severely injured, diseased or suffering, in a manner that affords a painless death, said Ledy Van Kavage, senior director of legislative services for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. VanKavage said she understood the position the police took, given the cat’s condition.
Chief Hearn said he feels his officers responded appropriately given the situation and had only used the Taser when all other efforts had failed. He said the report does not mention where the second cat went or what the officers did with the dead cat, which had no city tags for identification.
"I am assuming the officers buried the cat," Hearn said. "It was unfortunate that the cat was injured so badly that Jessica felt it had no chance of surviving its injuries. We do have leash laws in Gillespie, and I hope pet owners will make sure their pets have city tags and that their pets are kept contained or on a leash so incidents like these won’t happen."
Who would ever want to shoot me :(
Dangerous, Aggressive, and Vicious cat story.
Police have a new toy, need to check it out.
can't kill Alpo. I figured that he had a short life span when he decided to mix it up with the neighbor's pit bull. Two weeks later I saw firsthane how he had cowed the beast. the dog would actively run away from Alpo, even when Alpo was simply walking down the street.
And he sleeps in the street. he can tell if a car is going to stop or not. I've seen him stop traffic whilst he preens before getting otu of the way, slowly.
don't even think about picking him up in public!
Look how good I behave....
That is your tax money at work.
Morons. Good grief.
Shooting an animal on the spot that is suffering and is too big or too uncontrollable to transport is one thing. Once they took control of it, it should have been brought for humane treatment. Transporting it out of town to shoot it is absolutely ridiculous. Are these cops afraid of their own guns or what?
Obviously these people never lived or been to a farm long enough to know you just spray the cats with a hose. That's your tax money at work, 2 Police officers, an animal control officer, 2 vehicles, a taser gun, an animal safety loop tool, and a 357 magnum to stop a cat.
The vet might have had some ideas about how the cat had been treated.
James Herriot used to use a bath towel. Guess the just don't make men like they used to.
you mean Alpo? he's treated the same as any of the other cats. He DID spend the first six months of his life living with my ex....
ROFLOL
mebbe so. wonder what hapenned to the other cat?
sounds like Alpo. it's fun to watch him when he's on the prowl. wild creatures give him a wide berth - they part like the red sea.
We watched him sun himself on the street, which is a pretty busy road. He seemed to know which cars would stop, and he milked the drama for all it was worth. Other cars he would move for, but he just seemed to have radar or something.
"Obviously these people never lived or been to a farm long enough to know you just spray the cats with a hose."
That works, too, but the sudden dumping of five gallons of water on the fighting cats gets their attention wonderfully. That's what I've always done, and I always have a bucket near a faucet outside anyhow.
You ought to see them when that wall of water hits them! It's hilarious.
I agree - cats can often live quite well even with one eye. I had a friend who had a one-eyed cat (big old tom, mean to other cats (obviously) but a sweetie to people) - his name was, of course, Sluggo.
LQ
leash laws - for a cat. yeah, that works.
Good Grief? Does the thing eat people? I wouldn't be able to sleep in the same house.
Have you considered releasing him into the wild?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.