PHOENIX, AZ -- The North Valley man who blamed a Phoenix police officer for preventing a rescue of his cat says he wants people to give that officer more compassion.
The man's story caused a national media frenzy on Tuesday that brought six police officers to his house to rescue the animal - nine days after the cat got stuck in a tree on his police officer neighbor's property.
"Please don’t deface the officer’s property anymore," the cat's owner, Michael, wrote in a letter to ABC15. "A little compassion goes a long way."
Michael said his cat, Brutus, had gotten away on December 21st at a home near 12th Street and Bell Road.
When Michael finally tracked Brutus down, he was stuck in the branches, two stories in the air, on his neighbor's property.
"There has been a great deal of misinformation and innuendo spread around about what should have been the simple act of saving a pet’s life," Michael wrote.
At different points over the nine-day period, Michael said he reached out to Animal Control and the Humane Society for help.
Read the original story"I was repeatedly told by government services that my only option was to let Brutus die," he wrote.
Michael said he also tried to work with his police officer neighbor to get the cat down -- but was turned away because the officer 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.
A Phoenix Police spokesperson said the officer did what he could to help the cat.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the officer followed the direction of the Humane Society, taking his dog inside for a day, hoping the cat would come down on its own.
"The officer did everything he could, he bent over backwards," Thompson said.
Two representatives from an organization called North Phoenix Strays also tried to rescue the cat.
Toni Smith and Terry Toman said they chose to go behind the officer's home on a public sidewalk and lean a 25-foot ladder against his back wall. In this way, they figured they were not on the officer's 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."
Toman added, "It's a little overkill".
ABC15 tried to speak with the officer to get his side of the story, but he said to call police. The Phoenix Police Department said their officer had a right to defend his property.
They added that there was no way the officer could have known whether Smith and Toman were intruders or not.
In his letter to ABC15, Michael wrote, "If no government agency is willing or able to help rescue the pet, [the officer] has genuine liability concerns. I respected his property and tried my best to get a government agency to intervene, to no avail. When he told me to stop coming to the door after the Humane Society had been there the first time, I respected his wishes. I was left with no other place to turn so I contacted the media. I chose to put the pet’s welfare ahead of my own personal desire for privacy."
Several days after contacting the media, Michael said six police officers arrived at the home and rescued the cat using a ladder.
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.
Michael said he had no hard feelings for the people who own the tree the cat was stuck in, he was just glad to have Brutus safely home.
"Unfortunately, I have heard that the officer’s property has been defaced," Michael wrote. "There is no call for this. If you don’t like the laws, change them. If you want better city services, demand them. If you would like to help with funding, donate. You can’t expect people to simply ignore laws they don’t like. All I ever wanted was my pet somehow rescued, that is all."
