Posted: 12/31/2008 4:22:28 AM EDT
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all that trouble over a stupid cat??
nobody ever heard of a water hose? 
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– http://www.azcentral.com/community/nephoenix/articles/2008/12/30/20081230phxcat1231.html Cat stuck in tree leads to gun-drawn drama by Michael Ferraresi - Dec. 30, 2008 06:38 PM The Arizona Republic A neighborhood squabble about a cat stuck in a tree led a Phoenix police officer out of his home in his pajamas, with his gun drawn, when he noticed a ladder being raised against his back wall. The officer hustled outside, flashing his badge, worried for a moment that an intruder was climbing into his back yard near Bell Road and 12th Street. The incident startled rescuers, who said the officer unreasonably turned them away from saving the cat. The animal's owner called a local TV news station, infuriated that his pet was trapped for a week. But police on Tuesday said the story was sensationalized in an attempt to injure the officer's reputation. They said the officer let the Arizona Humane Society try to rescue the cat, to no avail, before entertaining other requests from his neighbor. "The (officer) did everything he could," Phoenix Sgt. Tommy Thompson said. "The guy locked his dog up for 23 hours so that cat could come down." "We're not in the cat rescue business," Thompson said. "It was clearly a one-sided story that was portrayed." The officer was also concerned about liability issues if someone were to fall from a ladder. Officers from the Phoenix Desert Horizon Precinct went to the officer's home Tuesday to pull the cat from the tree. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office animal cruelty investigators determined the officer did nothing wrong. The cat's owner refused to provide his name. He said calling the TV station was a last-ditch effort after days of back-and-forth between neighbors over how to get the cat down. The cat eventually was brought down safely. Police on Tuesday fielded numerous calls and scores of hate mail from concerned residents and out of state media. Someone also wrote "Cat Hater" on the sidewalk in front of the officer's home, according to police. The officer was not named. The volunteers who surprised the officer were part of Citizens for North Phoenix Strays, a non-profit, no-kill group. "We were basically going up there to pluck the cat and go," said Toni Smith, the group's founder and president. "It's a good thing it was blown up (in the media) or nothing would have happened." |