Police use pepper spray on a baby squirrel

[Hader]

Why does everyone think they know exactly how to react in this situation as if they were the officer themselves?

While valid points are raised, there is a difference between sitting at your computer and saying what should have been done and being the guy out there actually doing it. When you are faced with such a situation in the heat of the moment, I would like to see you react 'by the books' and to the point on anything you have said here.

Case in point, your view of this is completely different from your computer watching a video than it is for the officer in this video. Going around judging him is pointless and stupid.

 

[Shadowtek]

+1 to the cop...but he'd better beware of squirrely wrath!

^awesomeness up here^

 

[silversnake4133]

Wow, that was actually rather comedic. And the bleeding heart tween females only made it better.

 

[Shuswah_Noir]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8235325/cop-pepper-sprays-baby-squirrel

According to this, the squirrel was released back into the wild. Therefore, cannot have been rabid, so the cop was being a dick hole. There really was no excuse for this.

 

[Kortney]

I love the fact how 80% of the Online community thinks they know exactly how a insert occupation should react in every single different circumstances.

Why does nobody ever admit that they are talking out of their backside? I bet it's pretty easy to criticise the insert occupation from above from your living room. You all know best! After all, you just saw a 30 second video!

Not taking a shot at you, just wanted an outline.

Was there really a need for that?

 

[rosac]

The girls sounded like the WKUK guys had dressed up as girls. again.

But meh, its an animal, he could've done far worse. Hell, a guy shot four horses because the traveler owners didn't pay the rent for the stables. This isn't really that bad.

 

[rednose1]

The cop said he thought the animal may have been rabid. Sure, could've called out animal control, or maybe got people outta the area. Still means he did the right thing. Health and safety comes first, even if no one likes you for doing it. Would people feel better if it was a huge bat?

 

[mxfox408]

For those who are adding your two sense with igorance and didnt bother to read the article here it is:

A police officer who thought he was deterring a possibly rabid baby squirrel by pepper-spraying it got sprayed himself with bad publicity as horrified children looked on, screaming and pleading for him to stop.
The incident Wednesday at Kimbrough Middle School in Mesquite, Texas, was partially captured on camera with a 36-second clip shared on YouTube. Mesquite police said the officer was involved because of reports the animal was behaving very erratically, which might have been a sign of rabies. Before we go any further, you should know: Despite the squirrel's slight disorientation after being sprayed (as shown in the video), it is apparently fine.
School administrators called Mesquite Animal Control about the squirrel, according to CBSDFW.com, "and a technician picked it up and cleaned the pepper spray off of it before returning it to the wild."
The officer, however, may not be fine. The Mesquite Police Department says it's reviewing the case.

Behold those who read this are no longer ignorant. But i suggest to let some one get bit next time then put it the squirel down, just cuz that what it takes before you will have public support over this stupid incedent.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

Not enough info attached to this video for me to come to any conclusion.

 

[azurawolf]

Less squirrels the better.
I'm lucky I didn't get rabies when I got bit by one.

 

[Nouw]

It was rabid so I really see no problem. Hell it should be put down before someone dies.

Actually no, it wasn't rabid.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/04/07/officer-pepper-sprays-squirrel-at-mesquite-school/

Animal control took it, released it. If it was rabid they would have put it down immediately. Unless your a tin foil hat guy, the government isn't going to infect us with rabies.

So harming the squirrel did no good?

Shame on you officer! Having said that, I'm betting there's some kind of other part to the story we're all missing >.>

 

[Baby Tea]

...It's a squirrel. How is this making news?

THANK you.

It's a freaking squirrel. And this one was suspected of having RABIES.
The cop can't discharge his fire-arm at it, so what can he do until animal control gets there?
He can't let it get near the kids, and he doesn't want to risk getting bit himself.

Answer? Pepper spray that sucker.

Leave the cop alone.
If it WAS rabid and if any kids DID get bitten, he would have been in worst trouble.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

But the LAST people to be making judgement calls on this cop are the middle school kids in the video.

 

[Majorian]

It's a freaking squirrel. And this one was suspected of having RABIES.
The cop can't discharge his fire-arm at it, so what can he do until animal control gets there?

If the officer in question had actually contacted animal control before spraying the squirrel, I'm pretty sure they would have told him what a quick Google search tells us: [http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/other.html] (emphasis mine)

Small rodents like squirrels, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, chipmunks, rats, and mice) and lagomorphs including rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.

So everyone who has been bleating that the squirrel had rabies, or that it "probably" had rabies, or that it was any danger to humans whatsoever, is flat-out wrong. You probably shouldn't be posting pictures of Calvin & Hobbes laughing when you're the one making the fool out of yourself - just my two cents on that.

Also, pepper spray can be toxic to humans: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray]

The US Army concluded in a 1993 Aberdeen Proving Ground study that pepper spray could cause "Mutagenic effects, carcinogenic effects, sensitization, cardiovascular and pulmonary toxicity, neurotoxicity, as well as possible human fatalities. There is a risk in using this product on a large and varied population".

So it's a pretty cruel thing to use on a baby squirrel. I think it's useful for police officers to use against dangerous humans or animals, but come on, a baby squirrel? Definitely not humane by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[ranyilliams]

My god those people are so dumb

'Im just goin stand there and do nothing and talk in a irritating voice' those people may no attempt to stop him. Talk is Cheap

if i was the police officer i wud have turned around and Said 'Jesus SHUT UP' [Mace to the Face]

the Squirrel yeh he got the harsh end of the stick maybe the officers was scared of it or something

You expect a bunch of children to try to prevent an armed police officer from preventing a rabid animal advancing at him?

Do you realise how deadly rabies is and how idiotic what you're suggesting is? If you would honestly have tried to stop that police officer I don't see how you've made it this far in life.

Weird that the police responded, but there really is no better way for someone untrained in animal issues to deal with possibly rabid animals. What he needs is the proper equipment, something that animal control should have had. That said it used to be that suspected rabid animals were simply shot. Pepper spray just seems to be a waste of time in that respect.

I don't think he was responding to the animal being there. I think he was there, and the thing happened to walk up and he sprayed it. If they had thought the thing was rabid, they would have gotten the kids inside a long time ago.

Nice wild guesses. I don't think you have any idea what was going on.

Ok to be honest I couldn't see the spray but I take their words for it. There is no justifies for his action to use a pepper spray on the baby animal (it look harmless from the look of things). I really hope those animal cops will do something about it.

It's not a baby, its clearly justifiable and he did nothing wrong. Just because you're ignorant of a disease and a danger doesn;t make it not exist. See how long you last hugging some rabid squirrels. I dare you.

aaaaaah! its a squirrel! its going to destroy us! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!
cmon ppl, are you really that dumb? you afraid of flies too?
pathetic.....

edit: whats interesting to me is... what was this police guy doing there? somebody called police?
like in "help us, we are attacked by a squirrel"? and they responded?!

Like a bunch of children being set upon by a rabid squirrel.

Question. Would you more readily stab yourself with a dirty, small, pink needle than a dirty big, clear needle. Because it doesn;t matter what animal rabies comes from.

Why would anyone do anything to a BABY squirrel...that thing even if it was rabid, he could probably barely even chew his own food yet let alone bite someone...every time another one of these "abusing baby animals" videos pops up i lose a little bit more faith in humanity...

You're right. He should definitely have risked the safety of everyone there because the worthless squirrel was a baby.

I hope he gets shot by someone for this

So you're saying that a human life is worth less than an animal's comfort? Good to know you're at least loyal to your own species.

OT: Funny video, brah. I liked the chick(s) screaming for him to stop. They were hilarious.

Seriously though, why not just shoot the little shitter, if it was possibly rabid, that's what we used to do, and goddamn did it work.

genocide of the human species is one of my goals in life fyi

People who say this are invariably lacking in both maturity and scope. I hope you grow out of your childish misanthropy.

Btw, you can't genocide a species. L2dictionary.

Horrible. thats torture to the poor thing,something thats generally used on humans dogs and bears and then use it on something thats a fraction the size who knows how horrible it was for it.

That animal with barely any cognitive functions! I feel so sorry for it!

Squirrels can't get rabies. Rodents have something in their DNA that prevents them from being infected by it. Those people are idiots.

lulz. Even a quick google search would have stopped you from saying something blatantly incorrect. Any mammal can get rabies.

I originally intended to address every single person in this thread who was talking nonsense. But I'll just conclude with this.

Squirrels can't get rabies. Rodents have something in their DNA that prevents them from being infected by it. Those people are idiots.

...Is society really at a point where I'm supposed to have murderous rage towards a guy who peppersprayed a small animal who might have been rabid just because it was cute and young?

I swear, the world is being secretly run by PETA.

I wouldn't be surprised. Hopefully its just that video game players have been bullied by mean old humans and now don't have compassion for them. Their cats love them!

get a life...

Oh god. You're right. What am I doing sitting on my ass in a forum full of people with no grip on reality. I should be out learning, laughing, loving... living my life. Thankyou rainyilliams. Despite your obviously lacking intellect you've imparted a great wisdom upon me. I'll never look back.

Thankyou... [sub][sub]thankyou...[/sub][/sub]

Actually what i was saying was that you should get a life, because you obviously don't have one...I posted my 'opinion' on a forum for a video of a baby squirrel getting sprayed with pepper spray on the internet. When I returned home this afternoon a few hours later to find that my own singular unique opinion has been compiled into a large group of people with similar opinions as my own, with responses to each persons OPINION with a condescending statement giving no information about why you're right. Simply stating that you are right because we are wrong. Then when i point out the clearly obvious reality that you needed to get a life (otherwise you wouldn't be spending your time whining at people on the internet) you question my intelligence based on a total of less than 3 sentences of any of my written word and one of my opinions. I know that it's somewhat ironic that i'm writing all this after saying that wasting your time on the internet is pathetic, and i'm probably justifying to you that i probably have no life (not true at all) but someone has to stand up to idiots on the internet... Before you go around commanding your opinions over other think about this quote : "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt" What you did when you posted all of this was removed all doubt for myself, and probably some of the other people you talked down to on this list. This is simply animal cruelty caught on tape and its as simple as that. Even if that squirrel needed to die then stepping on it would have been the most humane way of killing it, not standing over it and spraying it with pepper spray rated for an animal roughly a thousand times its size...