Residents purr-turbed over cat’s ouster from police force

MOCKSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina police department is evicting its pet cat named Sgt. Butters, and some residents are mounting a campaign to bring him back.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the Mocksville Police Department’s resident feline needed a new home after concerns were raised about a pregnant woman who worked in the building and said she couldn’t be around cats. Officers had rescued the cat last year after it was seen hanging around the department.

A Save Sarge Butters Facebook page had nearly 600 members by Thursday afternoon.

Sgt. Butters has been credited with helping to restore the department’s tarnished image after a jury awarded $4.1 million in damages to three former officers who said two town officials fired them in 2011 for reporting allegations of corruptions to state officials.

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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com