Cat
may have been tasered
SANTA ANA (AP) — The scandal-plagued Orange County
Sheriff’s Department is investigating whether jail staff Tasered a cat that was
found dead on facility grounds, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The investigation comes after a scathing criminal grand
jury report last week that found deputies at Theo Lacy Jail sent personal text
messages and watched TV while inmates beat a fellow inmate to death. Another
inmate died last week after being Tasered at the jail.
A tipster told the department Monday that jail personnel
had used a stun gun on the cat. The animal was later found dead on the jail
grounds, between two fences, said John McDonald, sheriff’s spokesman. It had
been dead several weeks.
A necropsy is pending and McDonald declined to release
further details until the results are back, including who reported the
allegations.
Also Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors approved
$370,000 to install digital surveillance cameras in jail barracks and guard
stations at Theo Lacy. The board voted 5-0 to declare an emergency situation at
the jail so the county can bypass its contracting process.