A 59-year-old man from Moscow risks spending up to five years behind
bard for allegedly using a live cat as a weapon against police, last
year.
On October 4, 2018, the suspect, Gennady Shcherbakov, was reportedly
sitting at the foot of his apartment building’s stairwell. He had been
drinking heavily and was causing a ruckus, so some of his neighbors
called the police to report the disturbance. However, when police
officers arrived on the scene and told Shcherbakov to go home, he
refused to comply and instead grabbed a nearby cat and shoved it in the
face of one of the police officers. The confused feline allegedly tried
clinging to the man’s face, scratching him badly.
A year after this bizarre incident occurred, authorities have opened a
criminal case against Shcherbakov on charges of violence against
police. According to the Baza Telegram channel,
the suspect denies using the cat as a weapon against the police
officer, insisting instead that the animal jumped on his face by itself.
No word on whether the animal was injured during the incident.
Shcherbakov already spent the night of the incident in jail, but if
found guilty he risks spending up to five years in prison. It is not
clear why authorities took a whole year to open the criminal case.
