Police officer in Texas pepper sprays a baby squirrel :(

[jillan]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/10/police-pepper-spray-squirrel-baby_n_847098.html

A cell phone video showing a police officer spraying a baby squirrel with pepper spray has sparked outrage after it was recently posted on YouTube.

The video was recorded by a student at Kimbrough Middle School in Mesquite, Texas, according to Fox 5 New York. In it, students are heard pleading for the officer to stop, shouting things like "Don't spray him!"

After a rally of cries as the officer uses the pepper spray on the squirrel, the animal is seen writhing around on the ground.

From Fox:

Mesquite Police Department has defended the officer's actions.
Sgt. Wes Talley said the officer stood between a group of students and the animal because he thought it may have been rabid.
Talley said after several unsuccessful attempts to scare the squirrel away, the officer used his pepper spray on it to protect the welfare of the students.
Following the incident, animal control officers reportedly cared for the squirrel at a shelter before releasing it back into the wild.

[Taverner]

1. At the risk of seeming crude by tossing this out: Squirrel attacks have been up

Not that this was justified - it sure doesn't look like it

And to do that in front of kids wasn't very smart either

[GKirk]

2. Yeah, that little bastard probably

had it coming to him. :)

[Taverner]

5. LOL

He was giving the kids STINKEYE!!!

[Maine-ah]

4. the kids should have been brought inside

and animal control should have dealt with the situation. That said.....squirrels can be nasty creatures, and I would prefer not to be attacked by one, or my child for that matter.

[indy legend]

7. True. Not very smart, but remember, this is Texas, and being smart

ain't much of a priority you know.

[Ian David]

3. I've rescued a baby squirrel that fell from a tree once.

Apparently, they will walk (or rather stumble) toward any mammalian body, including humans, in an effort to stay warm.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. Who called the cops?

It's a squirrel.

[Shagbark Hickory]

13. Sounds like it was a school resource officer. Full time school police.

You know to protect the sweet innocent children from cannibalizing one another.

[elocs]

8. That was posted here last Friday with a video:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x571487

[FiveGoodMen]

9. If he's torturing small animals now, what will he be doing next year?

[notesdev]

10. Frisking your daughter on some security line somewhere

feel secure yet?

[damntexdem]

11. Aw just shoot the damn roof rat.

Kids are more important than squirrels.

[deaniac21]

12. Tree rats....you can't live with 'em but you can eat 'em.

[Shagbark Hickory]

14. Yet more animal cruelty and poor decisions by the boys in blue. Disturbing trend.

+! to the students who taped it and put it on the web.

[1620rock]

15. Fucking PIG!