A North Catasauqua police officer will not face misdemeanor charges in connection with shooting an injured cat he believed was a danger to the community, Northampton County's district attorney said Monday.

District Attorney John Morganelli during a news conference said he decided after a lengthy investigation that Officer Leighton Pursell should receive a summary citation for cruelty to animals but nothing more serious than that.

"It was a tough call," Morganelli said of the Dec. 6 incident. "I did not find Officer Pursell acted with any malice or maliciously."

However, the district attorney concluded the animal should have not been killed without more of an effort to isolate the animal, and perhaps offer veterinary care.

Pursell's attorney Gary Asteak said his client will fight the summary charge.

He said Pursell was a part-time officer on the North Catasauqua force at the time of the shooting, but declined to comment on his most recent employment status.



"He came upon an attack in violation of the borough ordinance with an animal that had no tags; no sign of ownership; was injured," Asteak said. "In accordance with borough police regulations, he did what was required of him under the regulations and in his judgment at the time. He did not have an animal control officer to call upon and consequently he was required to use force."

Asteak said Pursell considered the cat a threat.



"He viewed the animal as injured, snarling and a threat to public safety on a private property owner's property who wanted it gone," Asteak said. "He had no choice but do do what he did under his code of conduct."

When the cat, Sugar, got out on Dec. 6, owner Tom Newhart got worried the cat could be injured and a neighbor who eventually found the cat on his property called police. Pursell responded to the call and reportedly found the cat several houses away on Mike Lienert's property.

Sugar was hiding under a grill and, besides hissing at Pursell, showed no signs of aggression, attorney Jenna Fliszar, who represented Newhart, had said. The officer poked and prodded Sugar but made no other effort to capture the cat or call for help from animal control, according to Fliszar.

Pursell shot Sugar in the neck, killing the animal.

The shooting prompted an online petition with several thousand signatures for prosecutors to file animal cruelty charges against Pursell, Morganelli said.

'Meticulous, detailed investigation'

An investigation into Pursell's actions began after Fliszar on Dec. 21 requested a probe as to whether Pursell did the right thing in shooting the animal under the Pennsylvania Crime Code's cruelty to animals section.

Morganelli described the probe, conducted by Northampton County Detective John Casciano, as "meticulous" and "detailed."

The investigation included interviews with Fliszar, North Catasauqua Police Chief Kim Moyer, Lienert, a veterinarian and a state dog warden. Various documents were obtained, as well as photographs from the scene of the shooting, X-ray images of Sugar and the 911 call made by Lienert.

Letters from the community were reviewed, as well as a review of two studies about stray animals in the county, Morganelli said.

"Municipalities do not legislatively regulate cats, which means that police officers, animal control officers and dog wardens are not picking up stray cats, despite their large population," Morganelli said. "In fact, most states do not regulate the control of stray cats ... there are more stray cats in the public than stray dogs."

Dog warden Kathy Andrews provided data showing the county does not provide services for injured, sick or stray cats. Police departments also have no provisions dealing with such animals.

"Essentially, she said, no one will take them," according to Morganelli.

Officer cited

Despite Newhart claiming the cat was not injured, Morganelli said the cat was indeed injured when Pursell arrived.

The 911 call from Lienert also described an injured cat. The animal showed signs of mange, hair loss and was bleeding from the back area, as well as walking with an "exaggerated limp," Morganelli said.

"At this time, it was not known to the police officer that a domestic cat was missing in the jurisdiction," Morganelli said, noting the cat was not wearing a collar.

There also was a rabies concern in December, with five cases that month and seven cases reported in November.

The North Catasauqua Police Department's use of force policy allows an officer to discharge a firearm if an animal "represents a threat to public safety" and as a "humanitarian measure when the animal is seriously injured," Morganelli said.

Fliszar said she was disappointed Pursell wasn't charged with a misdemeanor for his actions and her client disputes any claim of the animal being injured when found by Pursell.

"The objective veterinarian evidence showed that's not the case," she said. "The story has changed. I feel like he (Morganelli) blamed the victim here and that's Mr. Newhart."

Asteak said charging Pursell with the summary offense will have an effect on police officers who are asked to address stray animals in municipalities that don't employ animal control officers.

"It is not their job to deal with stray dogs and cats and skunks," Asteak said. "They're only going to get in trouble if they follow what they are trained to do.



"We plan to defend this case to the very end."

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.