In the immortal words of Shakespeare (sort of), some cats are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. That last one was the case with this orange tabby who convinced his owner not to jump to his death from a 10-story window.
You might be asking yourself, how in the world could a cat do that if they can’t talk? Well, the simple answer is, a cat doesn’t need to talk to make an impression. That’s what the San Francisco police officers were banking on anyway when they decided to utilize a suspect’s cat to coax him down from a window ledge.
A job like no other, in a city like no other. Join #SFPD, ordinary doing the extraordinary. Pic courtesy SFChron pic.twitter.com/eApLUw90jJ
— Albie Esparza (@OfficerAlbie) October 9, 2015
The police had been chasing this man, because he was suspected of stealing a white Toyota Highlander. According to The San Francisco Gate, they had been questioning him in a civil manner on the sidewalk, but when their computer turned up that the car was indeed stolen, he ran into the building and up 10 floors. The situation turned from bad to worse when the man threatened to jump out a window.
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Several units were called to the scene, but even after three hours of gentle negotiations, the police were still no closer to getting the man to go back inside. That is, until his cat came on the scene.
Never underestimate the power of a owner's love for their pet #kitten! Great job #SFPD negotiations; scene clearing pic.twitter.com/tSayPeecue
— Ofc. Grace Gatpandan (@OfficerGrace) October 8, 2015
When the police think someone is a jump risk, they usually find a few close relatives to come and try to talk them down. So the man’s family was called, and when they finally arrived on the scene, the cops learned they had brought his cat with them. The cops thought it might be a good idea to show his cat to him, and see if that had any positive effect. So they brought the orange tabby up to the negotiators who were on a fire escape, catty-cornered to the window out which the man was hanging. Sure enough, within 45 minutes, the man went back inside and out to face his arrest.
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“Using the cat was ingenious,” said Officer Albie Esparza to the SF Gate. “Never underestimate the power of the love between people and their pets. I think it was great to think outside the box like the officers did. It made enough of an impact on this person to bring him down and come to his senses.”
Officer Esparza doesn’t recall there ever being another instance where a cat aided in catching a criminal in this way. However, he’s glad the officers thought to do so in this case, because it was the only soothing element that worked. While Esparza never learned the tabby’s name, he recognizes that he saved the day, just like another anonymous vigilante we know — Batman. Now all this little guy needs is a black rubber suit and a bunch of fun gadgets, hopefully infused with catnip.
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