ORIGINAL STORY: 12/30/08
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PHOENIX, AZ -- Brutis the cat is back home with his owner after going through a bit of a pickle. He had been stuck in a neighbor's tree for nine days, according to the owner.
And the cat's owner says a police officer was partly to blame.
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, on his neighbor's property.
The neighbor is a Phoenix police officer.
Michael had tried to get the cat out with no luck. Animal Control told him they don't handle cats due to limited resources.
Owner, police respond to Phoenix cat rescue
On Christmas morning, the Humane Society tried to rescue Brutis but said its ladders were not tall enough to reach him.
They also suggested Michael leave food and water at the base of the tree, something Michael said he couldn't do because his police officer neighbor would not let him back on the property.
Michael 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.
See the original ABC15 report from 12/29/08
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.
Read the full police news release
He said the Humane Society called the officer an "angel" who did all he could.
The Humane Society also told the officer they could not rescue the cat safely, according to Thompson.
However, another non-profit organization said on Monday they made an attempt to get Brutis out of the tree, but ran into problems.
Toni Smith and Terry Toman are with Citizens for North Phoenix Strays.
"There's some friction here between these neighbors and I said I could care less about the people I just want to go up and get the cat," said Smith.
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."
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.
“It seems like I just have to sit here and watch my cat starve to death or freeze to death,” Michael said.
Both Smith and Toman said they were willing to sign a waiver guaranteeing they would not sue the officer 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,” Smith said.
Late Tuesday morning, Michael said six police officers arrived at the home and rescued the cat using a ladder.
Michael said Brutis is a bit tired, scared and skinnier after 9 days in the tree, but by all accounts appears okay.
"I'm pretty happy, he lost a lot of weight up there, he was a little chubby when he went up and he's kind of boney now," Michael said.
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.
"The fire department doesn't respond to get cats out of trees, the police department certainly doesn't do it..we went ahead and said let's go ahead and get the cat down," Thompson said.
Michael said he has no hard feelings for the people who own the tree the cat was stuck in, he's just glad to have Brutis safely home.
"He wasn’t allowed out in the first place…specifically for this kind of reason," Michael said. "And I don’t ever want him to get out again. I’d like to think he learned his lesson, but he’s probably not that smart. He couldn’t figure out how to get out the tree."
