Reward for cat killers Reward for cat killers (February 11, 2005)

Residents want to get help for perpetrators
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

A gory sight assaulted people riding under the Sunol Boulevard overpass on the late morning of Monday, Jan. 17. A black and white shorthaired cat was hanging by a long rope from the railroad trestle.

"It was a family cat, which we determined later," said Animal Control Officer Roy Ficken of the Pleasanton Police Department. "We were able to find the owners."

Ficken said it was 17 years old and an "indoor" cat, but somehow it got out that morning about 6:30 a.m.

"It was a very friendly cat, according to the owners," Ficken added. "They said it would come up to anybody."

The home is at the north end of town, he noted. "Some group of people, someone, picked it up at north end of Pleasanton, and took it to the south end and hung it." Since the family has adult children, Ficken said, police think it was a random pick, rather than youths targeting other youths.

Several residents who saw the cat hanging have become upset over the incident, stating that those who did it need help. They conjectured because it was a school holiday, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., that the perpetrators were probably students.

"It seems like those kids should get to counseling quickly. They say that's a precursor to nasty behavior," said one woman, who did not want her name used in the newspaper. She and her husband are offering $500 as a reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators so they can get help.

Another woman stepped forward independently and offered another $500. She also saw the cat hanging and said that, although she is a retired San Jose police officer and has seen many things, the sight of the hanging cat is "emblazoned" into her brain.

"My view is this is an act of aggression against the community," she said, noting the planning it took to bring such a long rope and to choose a spot with an easy escape.

"I don't know what is driving this person but it is not good," she said. "I personally think it is a very serious thing."

Officer Ficken said the Police Department would agree with this assessment. He said the crime is unusual for Pleasanton. They sometime find rats and squirrels that have been crucified but they think they were already dead.

"At this level, with a dog or a cat, it is a rare case," Ficken said.

Anyone with information about the crime should call the police at 931-5100 and ask for the Investigations Division. Callers do not have to leave their names. "We don't care about names, we care about leads," Ficken said.

But the residents putting up the $1,000 reward are hoping it will encourage people to come forward with information.

"That has been a continuing key element in the early stages of people who go on to be serial killers," said the former police officer.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.