Phoenix officer won't allow neighbor to get stranded cat

Brutis the cat is in a bit of a pickle. He's been stuck in a neighbor's tree for the past eight days, according to his owner.

The neighbor is a Phoenix police officer.

The cat got away from his owner, Michael, last Sunday at a home near 12th Street and Bell Road. When Michael finally tracked Brutis down, he was stuck in the branches, two stories in the air.
<snip>
They also suggested the cat's owner leave food and water at the base of the tree, something Michael said he can't do because the officer will not let him back on the property. "He said he wouldn't let us go back there and try and rescue the cat."

Michael also said the officer told him he was concerned that if someone got hurt while trying to get the cat on his property he would be liable, "he said no because of insurance," explained Michael.

On Monday, Toni Smith and Terry Toman of the Citizens for North Phoenix Strays made another attempt to get Brutis out of the tree.
<snip>
Smith and Toman said they chose to go behind the home on a public sidewalk and lean a 25-foot ladder against his back wall.

In this way they figured they were not on his property.

Just as they were about to get the cat, Smith said, "This guy comes barreling out of his house, flashed his gun and his badge, and started screaming and freaking out."
<snip>
Both Smith and Toman said they are willing to sign a waiver guaranteeing they will not sue the officer or hold him liable if they should hurt themselves while rescuing Brutis, “It’s just a cat in a tree, why can’t we just go there and get the cat and move on.”

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/story/Phoenix-officer-wont-allow-neighbor-to-get/uSDXo0vALEiuKVsvSvFUfA.cspx

It's not really about the cat, but who knows what is really going on.
The cat should come down, but maybe he is hurt or sick. The officer had to
make a power play.
Officer Assclown

:shrug:

i saw something about this recently. they can go up easily, but down is much more difficult.

My cats have done this numerous times. It will climb back down if they just leave it alone..

people calling the fire dept. to get their cat out of trees.

Up is easy, down (if it's too high and steep) is not workable.

And ask him, politely, to help with the situation. "Oh, gee, it's three a.m. your time? I'm so sorry, I'm not very good at figuring out these time zones, you know!"

You'd think he'd get his fat ass up and HELP his neighbors, if he feared liability. Let him climb the frigging ladder.

The man is a jerk. He's facilitating cruelty.

Claws are hooked backwards, making them ideal for pouncing forward. When climbing a tree, they hook into the bark allowing the cat to pull itself upwards.

Now, imagine how well those claws would work on a descent. It would be like climbing down from a ten story building with roller skates on your hands and feet. Good luck!

Then jump the last bit so they're not backing into trouble.

couldn't get down.

and it was.. next time..

It was a cat from three houses down from where I lived. It was too high to get to and the branches were too thin to support a ladder and were too dense to get to him. No amount of coaxing would get it to come down.

The last time I saw it before the leaves started coming in it was just fur with a few bones sticking out from where the ravens and scrub jays had been feeding off of the carcass.

Of course it wouldn't hold together but fall down in bits when it decomposed. That statement always makes me shake my head. First of all, birds would peck a dead animal. Then, when the soft tissue decomposed, there would be nothing holding the skeleton together and, unless a bone lodged in a juncture in a tree, it would fall out in pieces.

Note to self.
Lesson learned.

Amazed kitty is still alive. Won't the fire dept come out in this situation?

I'll of course get flamed for that last statement. "Wasting resources" blah blah blah.

The fire dept. has the resources, and there are only so many fires, usually they are sitting around.

They are the ones to call for stuff like this.

It'd cost about $500 to rent a cherry picker. I'm sure the fire department isn't any cheaper.

That's a long time for a cat to sit up on the tree without food.
Something needs to be done or this cat will die.

From the article:

Just as they were about to get the cat, Smith said, "This guy comes barreling out of his house, flashed his gun and his badge, and started screaming and freaking out."

...

We tried to speak with the officer to get his side of the story on what happened Monday afternoon and he asked us to call police.

The Phoenix Police Department said their officer has a right to defend his property.

They add that there is no way the officer could have known whether Smith and Toman were intruders or not.

1) No one is contesting that he pulled a gun on the cat owners.
2) Who pulls a gun on someone trying to get their cat?

This guy has issues.

That's why I said he pulled a power play. Over a cat????
He is going to hurt somebody other than a cat.

whether Smith and Toman were intruders or not". What a load of bullshit. He knew exactly who they were and why they were there! Being purposely obtuse is not an excuse.

were doing, upon which I am sure they would have told him.
It's not that hard to figure out if there is a cat in the three and couple of people with the ladder, as to what these people are trying to do.

phoenix/scottsdale i'm sorry to say if i had to give an award for asshattery they were the winners long before i read THIS story

google their sheriff sometime

this is a sick "community" and anyone who might not fit in on the golf course may be faced w. very genuine discrimination

wonder what is the race of the folks wanting to save the cat, what is the perceived class

Wait. No I'm not. Not lately.

It sounds to me that the 'neighbor' is well within his rights to refuse the bleeding hearts and object to their trespassing. The Human Society and Animal Control have both passed. "There's an animal in your tree" is NO excuse to trespass.

His neighbors. People he should be able to recognize on sight. I'm just glad he's not on my local PD.

It seems clear that the "human interest" reporter who wrote this article chose to frame the story to pull at the "poor kitty" heartstrings. I take it with more than a grain of salt. Despite the urban mythology of "cat stranded" the PROFESSIONALS have made their opinion clear. I have never heard of a treed cat dying as a result. Never.

How is it that the cat was running loose? I know the story (conveniently) says it "got away" but I'm skeptical. It sounds to me like the policeman/neighbor has been pestered quite a bit.

I don't care how pestered you are. You do not have the right to pull a gun on someone when you're not threatened.

If he were anyone but a cop, the police would have already paid this guy a visit for that stunt.

:shrug:

you were actually privileged to trespass onto someone's land in order to recover an animal that had wandered onto the land. Not sure if that has been changed by statute, though.

the cat been in the tree 8 days, the cat ain't coming down w.out assistance

this is phoenix, you gotta give the pd credit for outrageous asshattery

the humane society needs to be fired and replaced and never donated to again if they think a cat stuck 8 freakin days doesn't need assistance

fuck and i don't even LIKE cats but this is just cruel

admittedly if i had to live in phoenix i'd be afraid to speak truth to power too

cats DO die when trapped, they do NOT have 9 lives -- THAT'S the myth, i know people whose cats were trapped and died in katrina

show up this cop for the a**hole he is.

Why the hell can't he let this guy get his cat?! This story could have been over in one hour day ago instead of dragging on and aggravating everyone.

I mean, it's not like it's a dog or anything...

surprised he didn't shoot them.

they really need to clean up their act but if everyone is afraid to call them on it down to the humane society i guess it ain't gonna happen

Or just get the cat anyway. If the cop shoots at you, shoot back.

all completely drunk with their own power. It's a whole town full of officer Assclowns!


If it were one of my cats I would never give up. I'd be up in that tree on the ladder from the sidewalk at 3am if need be.

This is the same Phoenix police department that thought it would be a great idea to being riot gear to the peaceful 2/15/03 protest.

Thankfully I'm leaving this cesspool in a few months.

I'm sure you meant to exclude Arizona DUers?

Arizona is next-to-last in public education funding, right above post-Katrina Louisiana. And it shows.

Even many Democrats I've met here aren't good at writing papers, explaining things or putting up a good defense of their beliefs.

The smart people I've met here are not from here, and they know exactly what's wrong with this place. There is no concern for anything related to culture or education here, and this is the end result.

"I'm sure you meant to exclude Arizona DUers?"

Some of them.

Seems the Police Chief received a few phone calls and that prompted the police to go rescue Brutis.

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/story/Phoenix-officer-forbids-neighbor-to-get-cat-PD/uSDXo0vALEiuKVsvSvFUfA.cspx

SNIP: Late Tuesday morning, Michael said police officers arrived at the home and rescued the cat using a ladder. It's unclear whose property they were on during the rescue.

Sgt. Thompson said Phoenix Police don't normally rescue cats from trees, but said calls to the Police Chief's office prompted the move to get the cat down from the tree.

Brutis is now safe and doing well -- and out of the tree.

By the way I hope the owner takes the poor cat to the vet, if this cat has been up there for 8 days he might need medical attention.

I wish someone would lock him up for eight days without food or water.

,

Never trust a cop - all of them are assholes.

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:popcorn:

(You better be wearing asbestos.)

:hide:

Jerkwad.

That's better publicity than the first part of the story.

I'd show up with both and give the stupid officer a choice. If he won't assist or just allow a rescue witha ladder, cut the damn tree down!

BTW, I once had to rescue a partially declawed cat (still had its back claws) because it could climb up just fine but couldn't climb down.