By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. — A pet squirrel escaped its cage during a traffic stop, and chaotic dashcam video shows the rodent got the better of a startled Louisiana sheriff’s deputy.
It happened in Livingston Parish, east of Baton Rouge, the department reported.
Video shows the squirrel jumped on the deputy’s back when he leaned into the passenger side door of the vehicle, according to a Feb. 28 Facebook post.
The frightened deputy is then seen jumping and spinning in circles, with his arms in the air.
Another deputy repeatedly attempts to swat the squirrel away. However, it’s too fast and continues moving to different spots on his colleague’s upper body.
A slow-motion version of the incident was also posted.
“You have got to see this,” the department wrote.
“LPSO deputies made a traffic stop with an arrest. Upon a vehicle search, a ‘pet’ feral squirrel —which was inside — pounced on the deputies. This video shows what happened next.”
https://www.facebook.com/livingstonparishsheriffsoffice/videos/1026053274660633/
The video (posted twice so far) has gotten a combined 23,000 views, and hundreds of reactions as of March 1. This includes people who offered cash to hear the unreleased audio portion of the video.
“Yeah he’s never going to live that one down!” Nate Stueber wrote of the deputy.
“Who keeps an attack squirrel?” Zachary Marable asked.
“I would have passed out,” Michelle Grimmer wrote.
The deputies managed to get the squirrel back in its cage and nobody was hurt during the incident, officials said. Details of why and where the driver was pulled over were not released.
As for the squirrel’s frantic moves, the species is known for being acrobatic and running in “a zigzag pattern” when threatened, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
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