Warren Police scrambled about 10 officers after a 911 caller reported seeing a black panther in a wooded area near the southern side of Bates Park.
"It's huge," the caller insisted.
Arriving officers decided that the piercing black eyes on the panther -- sitting inside a discarded section of cement drain pipe -- were so menacing that they quickly cordoned off the area. It was shortly after 8 p.m. Monday, and daylight was fading fast.
Fearing the large cat would lunge at officers or escape and run loose, police quickly moved into position and shot the panther with a Taser stun gun.
They got him -- right in the stuffing.
Turns out the panther was a large stuffed toy, apparently placed in the pipe as a hoax.
"There was a fear that ... it could ... endanger the community," Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer told the Free Press on Thursday. "We're out there to keep the community safe, by whatever means necessary."
The incident occurred about one month after a Warren officer used a Taser on 16-year-old Robert Mitchell following a chase. Mitchell died, and his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Warren.
Contact STEVE NEAVLING: 586-826-7255 or sneavling@freepress.com
