Wrist slap for Pa. cop who shot Sugar the cat

A northeastern Pennsylvania policeman who shot and killed a pet cat is getting a wrist slap despite an online petition signed by 100,000 people demanding he be fired.

While responding to a 911 call in December, North Catasauqua Police Officer Leighton Pursell Officer found an orange tabby dragging its hind legs and trailing blood.

After assessing the situation, he drew his .38-caliber revolver and summarily decided to "humanely end the cat's life and suffering."

But Tom Newhart's 6-year-old cat, Sugar, wasn't hurt badly, according to a veterinarian's postmortem report. And she wasn't endangering anyone, unless you count a hissing and clawing at humans that came too near. She was a friendly indoor cat, Newhart said, who made a dash for the outdoors, as cats will do.

"She knew her name," a grief-stricken Newhart said at the time. "If you'd call her, she'd come to you."

The killing of Sugar a few doors down from Newhart's house inflamed the community. Angry crowds packed a borough council meeting; emails; phone calls and letters from animal rights activists flooded investigators; and an online drive formed calling for Pursell's dismissal, according to the Morning Call of Allentown.

But instead of firing Pursell, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli cited him Monday with animal cruelty. The DA said that while the officer did not act maliciously when he shot the cat, the evidence did not show that killing the feline was warranted.

The citation has a equivalent consequence of a parking ticket.

Local ordinances allow police to euthanize an animal once two people have agreed that the severity of injury merits the extreme action, but Pursell was either unaware of the law or chose to ignore it. 

"(Pursell) is not somebody that can be trusted to get all the facts before making a decision, and if somebody is going to discharge their firearm without getting all the facts, it begs to question whether or not he should be in the job that he's in," said Newhart's attorney, Jenna Fliszar.

Pursell's attorney Gary Asteak responded:

"My sense is that the prosecution is based more on public sentiment from the 'Cat Lives Matter' movement than it is based on the prosecutor's examination of police practices."

Asteak said Pursell would fight the citation and that the officer acted appropriately after encountering an injured and apparently feral cat that might have posed a danger to the community.

He did not elaborate on how a scared, hurt cat — feral or otherwise — threatened greater Allentown.