Never underestimate the power of a cat to save a human life.
Recently In San Francisco, a cat helped end a three hour long stand off between cops and a man who was threatening suicide, consequently luring him off the ledge and into custody.
The incident started when police officers pulled over a stolen Toyota Highlander. Much to the officers’ surprise, the man who was driving the vehicle bolted and ran into a nearby building. The man then climbed up to a window ledge and threatened to jump to his death.
For many long grueling hours the hostage negotiation team, traffic division, tactical unit, and motorcycle unit worked together to try and get the man to climb back down to no avail until, that is, his cat showed up.
After the man’s family arrived on the scene, they brought his orange tabby cat along to appeal to the man’s sense of conscience. In just 45 minutes the situation was diffused. In the end, the man climbed down on his own volition from the window and peacefully surrendered to the police.
“I don’t remember ever using a cat before, but it worked,” said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesperson. “The guy voluntarily came out of the window and opened the door and was taken into custody without incident.”
Officers also brought the cat over to the man when he was cuffed so he could see his beloved pet up close one more time before he was taken into custody.
“The guy wasn’t resisting. There was no need not to help him out. Obviously, he had a very emotional attachment to the cat and it was nice to comfort him as much as possible,” added Esparza.
You can rescue a cat but in the end, they save us.
