At Least It Wasn't Another Dog

Jody Putnam was, until he was dismissed, a police officer in Mountain City, Tennessee.  As reported by the Mountain City paper -- which has the best name ever -- The Tomahawk, Officer Fife Putnam was dispatched to the Mountain City Dollar General on September 27st, 2013.  A squirrel had entered the store and apparently taken hostages.  Dollar General is known for it's excellent selection of nuts.

I only wish Jack Webb were alive.

Witnesses say that Officer Putnam entered the store where the squirrel was, according to Tomahawk reporter Lacy Hilliard, "becoming increasingly hostile, presumably due to the stress of the incident."   Faced with aggressive and threatening behavior, Officer Putnam maced the squirrel.

Paging Ray Stevens.

While the gas failed to subdue the bushy-tail, it did drive a number of gasping, choking customers from the store.  With the hostages now out of harms' way, Putnam made the fatal decision to deploy his service weapon against the unarmed rodent.  Reports from the scene vary with some witnesses insisting that as many as three shots were fired.  All agree that the quiet horror of that day was shattered by nightmarish screams during those final bloody moments.

When the crowd ventured back into the Dollar General's now still and silent aisles, they saw the bloody remains of the furry perpetrator lying lifeless beneath Officer Putnam's shoe.

Other reports (Breitbart and WBIR)  seem to indicate that Putnam was dismissed by the City Council in the aftermath of the incident less for macing and shooting the squirrel than for refusing to file the report required after discharging a service weapon.  

I don't know if this will be detrimental to Mr. Putnam's law enforcement career, but I can imagine he will have a hard time living it down.  He certainly would in my town.  I just hope there aren't tree-rat versions of Al Sharpton and Benjamin Crump out there planning riots and civil suits.