POLICE BEAT: Officers, mules and swine, oh my!
By Kyra Hoggan
Castlegar police re-enacted their own version of Animal Farm this morning, as livestock concerns took the limelight in calls for response.
Castlegar top cop RCMP Sgt. Darren Oelke said (after much hectoring from a local reporter for a story to cover) police got a call at 10:44 a.m. Thursday morning about a mule on the lam in Pass Creek. A member responded, but was unable to locate the recalcitrant mule. He (the member, not the mule) was, however, able to locate the owner of the animal, who (the owner, not the animal) informed police he had wrangled the mule back home. The mule is now serving time in the pen.
Just over an hour later, at 11:49 a.m., police received another call, this time about a large pig grazing the grounds near Robson Elementary. A member was dispatched to the scene.
“A constable attended, located the pig, and interviewed him … but the swine wouldn’t tell him where he’s from,” Oelke said, reading the officer’s report. The officer informed the pig that it was unlawfully at large, but apparently a language barrier prevented an easy resolution.
As luck would have it, a neighbour happened by who recognized the animal, and it was taken home without incident.
“No force was required in properly containing the suspect,” Oelke concluded.
