Police Taser Cat Then Fatally Shoot It

[matcom]

3..2..1.. :nuke:

<snip>

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.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14040766&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=6

[MissB]

1. I was sure this was a copycat thread.

Seriously.

[Robeson]

2. Thanks for the cheerful story to brighten our day....

....:cry:

[LiberalinNC]

3. Geez, all you need to break up a cat fight is a hose! Water always breaks

it up! :mad:

[autorank]

6. Exactly my thought as I read the story

[edbermac]

4. That must have been a big frickin' cat!!

You sure it wasn't a lion or a tiger or a cheetah?

[CrownPrinceBandar]

5. Just wait until Tasers are available to the public.......................

then the fun REALLY starts.

[all.of.me]

7. lol

yes, let's hand them out to hormonal middle-schoolers!! then leave town........

[slackmaster]

10. What makes you believe they aren't available right now?

Everything that is not explicitly prohibited by due process of law is allowed.

http://www.pepperspraymace.com/tasers.html

:shrug:

[datasuspect]

14. i think they are

you can probably purchase one online.

[David Dunham]

8. Someone ought to Taser the officer.

[Kire]

13. Nepotism

What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

[Robb]

9. The animal control officer said to kill the cat.

It's unclear from the crappy writing whether the severe injuries were from the tasing or the fight it had just been in. :shrug:

[flamingyouth]

11. Yeah, I couldn't figure that out either

I assumed the injuries were from the Taser, but who knows.

:grr:

[intrepid_wanderer]

12. Why is it so wrong to end suffering? n/t