Police use pepper spray on a baby squirrel

[Vuljatar]

Wow. Fucking idiots. (I'm referring to the kids, and to everyone in this thread who didn't read the article.)

You do not fuck around with rabies.

In the absence of a BB gun or a trained animal control officer, pepper spraying it was the best option.

He should've sprayed the kids with the camera. Teach them to shut up for a second or two.
What did they want the officer ot do? Pick it up?

Seriously, those stupid kids must not know what the fuck rabies is. They should be glad they aren't in the hospital.

 

[Leemaster777]

I may not win any awards for kindness to animals here, but I think the officer was in the right here.

That squirrel was NOT acting normally, even from the limited footage in the vid. A normal squirrel would NOT approach a group of yelling people like that. It was clearly rabid.

To everyone who says he overreacted, let me ask you, what was he SUPPOSED to do? Let the squirrel run into the crowd and bite someone, possibly giving them rabies?

This was the most sensible, least harmful way to resolve the situation for everyone involved. The squirrel is fine. The children are fine. He is fine. What more could you ask?

He isn't animal control. He doesn't have any special tools to deal with situations like this. All he had was his mace and his gun. And if he SHOT the squirrel, I think this would actually be an issue.

My question is this; why the HELL were all the students allowed to just stand there and watch this? There was a suspected RABID squirrel out there. Shouldn't it be the teacher's responsibility to escort the children inside, where there's no chance for them to get bitten? I think that's the bigger issue here.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/04/08/6435540-officer-caught-on-video-pepper-spraying-baby-squirrel?gt1=43001

Maybe that squirrel was rabid. I don't know. But it seemed kinda cute when it hopped after the officer.

1. When a squirrel is approaching humans like that, it's a huge sign of rabies.

2. This was at a middle school. Middle school kids don't know what's going on, and they're be more likely to fuck with the squirrel and get bitten than elementary or high school kids.

3. The officer did not have gloves, leashes, or any other safe method of handling the animal and removing it. Rather than use a gun, or go get a shovel or some other blunt instrument, the officer sprayed the rabid animal with his best non-lethal option.

4. If you read the story, the squirrel was later released and was absolutely fine. The pepper spray is what allowed them to handle the animal without risk of bites. Rabies will straight up kill your ass.

5. Of course middle school kids are going to whine and plead. That is what they do. In that age group, ALL authority is wrong ALL of the time. It's cool to resist or disagree with anyone that has a badge, a uniform, or a title.

In short, there is absolutely nothing "wrong" going on in this video. Unfortunately, the police department may decide to throw this guy under the bus to make it look like they "fixed" a problem that wasn't there. I hope they stick to their guns, though.

Woah. Don't shoot the messanger man here. There are tons of other people in this thread you could use this quote on.

 

[Yoh3333]

He did what he had to do!
If you read the report they state that 1. he was called there and therefore did what he was asked to do.
2. it was possibly rabid
3. the children are children. they have no idea that it could be threatening.
4. This publicity has only hurt the one officer more than it should have. He (possibly) saved the kids and the squirrel were not killed or harmed much! It was released back into the wilds afterwards...

I basicly summerized what everyone else has allready said... sorry about that...

edit: What annoys me about this "case" is that this has hurt the officer even when he did a good deed.
All this coverage is ruining the cop who was simply doing the appropriate... With all this coverage he is sure to be "dealt with" even if he didn't do anything!
out of curiosity i went to the Youtube comments and looked through them. The video on youtube has no association with an actual report so alot of people go to the video saying "he is just cruel" as they take it out of context. This sickens me...
A good man being made the devil out of people because of such a minor incident. The news are makeing this too big and hence hurt the officer now...

 

[Gitty101]

Why!?!? WHY!?!? What'd that cute little creature ever do to deserve such cruel justice? J-walk? Rob a liquor store?

That was just cruel (

EDIT: Ah, read the article Now it makes more sense... but still s little harsh imo

 

[michael87cn]

It COULD have had rabies, sure, it COULD have just been used to people and liked to approach people for nuts/treats.

I don't mind them removing the squirrel from the area, but how the hell is pepper spray going to fix the situation? You also don't call POLICE to handle animal incidents, you call an animal control center.

The pepper spray was animal abuse, because even though the animal may be sick/insane, inflicting unnecessary pain on it doesn't solve the problem that its NEAR PEOPLE.

These animals need to be collected by experts and handled with care, not shot in the face and left to suffer and die a horrible painful death induced by poison/blindness/agony.

They may be vermin but they don't invade your home, so you have no business killing them for sport as far as I'm concerned.

*We don't maim/kill insane/sick people and we shouldn't treat animals any worse either. Not if we ever want to make any sort of progress as a people and society.

*Note I'm not a hippy/animal lover I just say killing for SPORT/FUN is wrong, not food/eating.

I also realize the offier may have just been following orders, but whoever sent him there didn't know what they were doing, police aren't supposed to handle animal incidents, especially of such a minor scale...

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Yeah! Fuck that fucking squirrel! I hate those things! Mace em all I say! I'm fucking pumped AARGH!

 

[Hero in a half shell]

how the hell is pepper spray going to fix the situation? You also don't call POLICE to handle animal incidents, you call an animal control center.

You are correct in this point, but either the animal control centre hadn't yet arrived, or someone called the police, (since the article states that the squirrel was later caught and examined I think it was the former.) either way it ended up in the situation that a possibly dangerous animal was intent on getting up close to a police officer and a group of children.

The pepper spray was animal abuse, because even though the animal may be sick/insane, inflicting unnecessary pain on it doesn't solve the problem that its NEAR PEOPLE.

These animals need to be collected by experts and handled with care, not shot in the face and left to suffer and die a horrible painful death induced by poison/blindness/agony.

The pepper spray did not do any damage to the squirrel, it just acted as a deterrant when it was getting too close that the officer and the childrens safety was compromised, and it worked perfectly as that. Also the squirrel was handled by experts afterwards and was absolutely fine.

 

[Dogstile]

Hey guys, protip

READ THE LINK

He got called out to handle it because they thought it was rabid and it was approaching children.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but i'd rather not risk kids or myself getting rabies, as it can kill you.

And before anyone says "its a baby, it can't bite anyone". They can. They have teeth. They can bite through skin.

I don't mean to say that your comments are incorrect or misguided... but do you really think he just sprayed that squirrel because it was a 'health hazard'? I really did NOT get that impression from watching this.

I know pepper spray is non-lethal, but it seems like it's the number 1 answer to most of a police officer's problems these days : /

I'm pretty sure he did. Considering from what I can make out, he stepped back twice from it and only sprayed it when it dashed at him.

It wasn't even like he was sadistic about it. Quick spray, cap on, turns around.

 

[standokan]

I'm glad he did, that thing could've killed someone

 

[Benedict Wolfe]

I hope he gets shot by someone for this

You hope he gets shot? The squirrel was suspected of being rabid and since the officer didn't have the proper equipment for handling it, he was left with two options: Rendering it harmless or killing it outright. He chose to mace it after which it was transported away and released into the wild.
He did his job and saved the life of an animal that might otherwise have been killed by wary adults at the school.

So no; let's hope he receives a pat on the back rather than a bullet in the head.

 

[Risingblade]

and therefore saves kids from rabbies? Good Job :3

 

[Snotnarok]

It's possibly rabid, he's possibly trying to deter it and pepper spray isn't going to kill it. I guess we should get bent out of shape when someone gets sprayed by a skunk and go on a hunt for the skunk right?

No really it's only fair if we're going to get mad at 'a creature' for using non-lethal self defense on another creature.

Honestly I would have liked to see the officer let it get closer so when someone got bit they would have screamed "you should have done something! Like pepper sprayed it!"

 

[Harry Mason]

Regardless of the moral implications of that video, the level to which the officer was afraid of the baby squirrel made me snort coffee out of my nose.

Seriously? People need to spend more time around animals. Small infected rodents are best dealt with by way of boot heel, not rape repellent. Sometimes, when state code requires that an animal be terminated, it is best to humanly and quickly end its life, not torture it because you are afraid there is a small chance you will have to get a few (albeit painful) shots.

 

[Treblaine]

I hope he gets shot by someone for this

Hasn't the squirrel suffered enough, now you want him shot?

I know he was a wild rabid animal but surely the pepper spray is the proportional response.

 

[Tsaba]

I can't believe all this love for squirrels, they must be in league with them, especially since we all know squirrels are natures drug dealers.

Spoiler: YAR!

EDIT: We also got Rabies (Rage is a form of rabies) to thank for the zombie apocalypse that destroyed merry ol' England

 

[Charli]

Squirrels are vermin I'm afraid no matter how cute and fluffy they appear. Police officer was doing his job and not letting it get near what sounds like a crowd of stupid teens.

Pepper spray was a silly thing to use however, He should have just scared it off with normal means. Or maybe he has a phobia. Who knows.

Stupid video. Everyone in it is dumb. Squirrel for getting near those people, Police officer for not using his brain and maybe shouting at it to scare it off. And the tweenies for squealing and breaking my ears.

Oh yes because we cant allow squirrels to get near teens, we all know they are a real threat to humanity's future! We also gotta get them away from marijuana or they could become gay flag burning terrorists![heavy sarcasm]

Its a baby squirrel, they come near people all the time. They don't know any better. Unless it is foaming at the mouth and performing a Monty Python-esque death rabbit scene, it ain't rabid. Don't like animals getting near you? You walk away. It's not like its a charging cheetah.

Like it or not, it's part of that man's job. And yes stray wildlife is to be removed from civilization rabid or not. Don't get snippy with me buster, you don't like a law, go off and change it. And yes most people will ignore a squirrel, but it's still there as a rule and it's up to that man weather he follows it or not.

I wouldn't personally. Really not in the mood for heavy sarcasm, I just said I found this whole predicament stupid. And I don't like people taking everything I say to uneeded extremities like that.