Whatcha want, whatcha wanna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Two vicious criminals were caught by the long hand of the law and face justice for the community-destroying act of…trapping and feeding cats. The heroic police officers responsible for meting out justice were from the Wetumpka Police Department in Wetumpka, Alabama, about 20 miles north of Montgomery.
Fearless cops arrived at a public park on June 25 and immediately took up tactical positions after receiving intelligence that two seasoned criminals were trespassing on public land and defying the law by feeding the dangerous beasts. Even worse, the alleged lawbreakers were conducting their brazen activity in broad daylight!
After they were satisfied that 84-year-old Beverly Roberts and 60-year-old Mary Alston were not hiding weapons in the bags of cat food they’d brought with them, and could not repurpose their cat traps to harm officers, the intrepid lawmen courageously confronted the pair of malefactors, telling them to cease their illicit activity and vacate the premises.
The officers approached Alston first, warning her that she was breaking the law by feeding stray cats who were “becoming a nuisance.”
A flabbergasted Alston said she was trying to help the situation by trapping the cats and bringing them to shelters, pointing out she had a trap already deployed and had other trapping equipment in her car.
But the officers noted such specialized work is the domain of trained professionals — in this case the town’s absent animal control officer — and told her to leave.
“I’m teetering on going to jail for feeding cats?” the hardened alleged criminal asked, bristling with obvious disdain for authority.
The clearly dangerous woman thought she could retrieve her traps and pack up her belongings, but the resolute police were having none of her defiant attitude.
“She’s still sittin’ here after we done told ’em to leave already,” an officer complained to a dispatcher during an aside filmed in his patrol car.
When Alston expressed surprise that police were cuffing her, the officers explained they had already emptied their vast reservoir of patience after telling her to leave the park.
“You aren’t doin’ it fast enough and now you’re going to jail!” an officer said after literally yanking Alston out of her driver’s seat with both hands. (An act completely justified, we’re sure. You don’t last long as a lawman in a depraved town like Wetumpka if you can’t quickly spot possible danger.)
Meanwhile, Roberts demonstrated clear contempt for authority when she questioned why an entire shift’s worth of cops were present, and went to hand her car keys to Alston before the officers arrested her. She explained she was handing off her car keys because she didn’t want the vehicle sitting in a public park unattended, not yet realizing the police would do her a favor by impounding her car.
“It’s gonna get ugly if you don’t stop!” one officer said, warning the incredibly dangerous woman, who further insulted the valorous public servants by questioning their use of time and resources on a cat-feeding complaint.
Knowing the 84-year-old could be deceptively strong, the officers cuffed her with her hands behind her back, then expressed skepticism when she couldn’t physically get into the back seat of a police SUV while restrained.
After both women were restrained and under control in the back of a patrol cruiser, the cops reflected on a tense situation that could have gone wrong at any moment.
“I’m glad nobody recorded, because [it’s] a bunch of police officers beatin’ up on a couple old ladies,” an officer said while another laughed off camera.
We here at Pain In The Bud commend the Wetumpka Police Department for showing no mercy to their town’s seasoned criminal element.
Recent examples of cowardice in high-profile policing situations (Uvalde, Texas, and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida) may have shaken the public’s confidence in our normally intrepid police, but the officers of Wetumpka valorously charged into this situation despite great risk to themselves, clearly understanding the immediate danger Alston and Roberts posed to the community with their allegedly law-breaking acts.
After righteously fighting attorneys for both women and refusing to release body and dash cam footage of the tense encounter, Wetumpka police could no longer drag their feet after three months of stalling and were finally forced to hand the video over due to clearly anti-American laws supposedly meant to guarantee “freedom of information.” Obviously, such laws were created to benefit cat-feeding terrorists and other dangerous criminals.
The attorneys believe the footage will vindicate their clients, but any reasonable person who views tape of the encounter will certainly come away with nothing but admiration for the police officers, who wisely prioritized using their resources on such a brazen and community-destroying crime.
The town of Watumpka, and all of America, owes a debt to these fine men.
Pain In The Bud 
Obviously, I am so relieved that the officers were armed, as this was obviously a tense stand off and these criminals could easily also have had guns…
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Indeed, cat people are known to pack heat, maybe even vicious weaponry like laser pointers.
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I carry a laser pointer for my catsitting jobs. Watch out! I am very dangerous!
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DISGUSTING!! Someone tried to call police on me years ago when i was feeding feral colony. I was feeding in legal area and kept area super clean. I said i would call them for her. I did and it was a second feeder. A COP. She was a feeder who fed cats if i could not.
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This is unbelievably appalling!
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Well, we do have lots of people in AL rescuing and TNRing cats, (my family and I have been taking in street cats and TNRing ferals for years) but this is another part of the state … I’ve posted on fb, so I hope they get some feedback about this.
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I posted a link to your article in the comments to my post of the news article.)
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Hopefully people understand my position, but it’s the internet so you never know. 🙂 Withering sarcasm was the only way I could express myself on this.
BTW I linked to Yahoo instead of the local paper because the latter had this story and video behind a paywall.
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Well done, LEOs! But seriously, was there nothing more urgent than rousting two women feeding strays? That little town must be the most peaceful place in all of Alabama. Come to think of it, there’s a saying: “thank God for Alabama”, making the other Southern states look good in comparison.
What happens to the ferals now? Will anyone feed and TNR the cats?
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Apparently they don’t have anything more urgent. They had three vehicles respond: Two patrol and a supervisor. In a town of 8,000 that is likely the entire patrol shift, or 3/4 of it.
I’ll update if I find out anything about the SPCA or anyone else getting involved to care for the cats.
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Thanks Big Buddy!
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thebigbuddy, I described your post as satirical, and even if I hadn’t I think everyone on my page knows I’d only post things that advocate for the cats and rescuers. I’d do a post on my website but my computer isn’t set up now, and I’m seriously ill and haven’t been posting. Info does seem scarce online, I hope the story gets out.
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Thanks, Leah. I noticed you haven’t posted to your blog in a long while and I hope you feel well enough at some point in the near future.
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I took a quick look around and there are some rescue groups near the area, will also update if I see anything.
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Thanks Leah! 🙂
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Next we might hear that the officers involved in this dangerous mission, where their lives were at risk every second, will be filling for Trauma compensation. Its good to know that the hardened criminals (age 60+ and 80+) were immediately apprehended and removed; local citizens are able to relax knowing they are safe from unauthorized cat feeders.
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Indeed, thanks to these fine lawmen, the good citizens of Wetumpka can breathe easy!
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A friend wrote this to the mayor:
Excerpt:
If these cops don’t have anything better to do, then
perhaps you ought to loan them out to a city that does have a crime problem.
However, Google also answers the question: How safe is Wetumpka, Alabama?
“*With a crime rate of 37 per 1,000 residents, Wetumpka has one of the
highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes –
from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. **One’s chance of
becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 27.”*
In a few days, these two ladies will be arraigned in court facing charges
of criminal trespassing (on public land), disorderly conduct, and
obstructing government operations. I’m not sure how caring for these
animals can be labeled with these charges, but apparently the City of
Wetumpka came up with a reason. Shame on all of you! If it weren’t so
sad, it would be ludicrous!
Is it true that “. . .*the mayor has it in for these two ladies. . .”?*
Sure sounds like it.
End Excerpt:
This is the most complete footage I’ve seen:
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/videos/news/2022/10/13/cat-ladies-arrested-wetumpka-police/10481603002/
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