Cat and two kittens shot, ACO charged
Lackawanna, NY (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008
County: Erie
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Fred S. Grasso
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
A Lackawanna animal control officer has been charged in the killing of three animals he was hired to protect. Now some want to know why he's still armed and on the job.
Lackawanna's Animal Control Officer, Fred Grasso, was arraigned yesterday [June 20, 2008] on felony animal cruelty charges. He's accused of shooting a cat and two kittens in an apartment building last week. Representatives of the SPCA want to know why he's still working.
Gina Browning, SPCA Spokesperson, "We've received calls from community members who are concerned that he's still on the job. We've received information from different sources that he's still working."
Mark Weinstein, West Seneca Resident, "That's kind of crazy. If someone's charged with any kind of a felony, they shouldn't be out..I mean, police officers get time out with pay stuff like that. If there's a shooting or anything like that."
Sandra Luce, Lackawanna Resident, "He doesn't have no compassion. He has no love."
Some people living on the street where the incident happened believe Grasso was probably justified.
Bernice Bure, West Seneca Resident, "I think he had a reason for doing it, because I don't think anybody would shoot an animal for not having a reason."
Others feel Grasso's pistol permit should be revoked until the case is resolved.
Mark Weinstein, West Seneca Resident, "If I shot a dog or a cat in my backyard, I'm sure they would pull my pistol permit from me immediately. So, I think there needs to be a better investigation."
Gina Browning, SPCA Spokesperson, "I know that a very short investigation gave us enough evidence to charge him with cruelty for a violent crime. So, that concerns me that he's still on the job."
Grasso is due back in court for a felony hearing on July 1st.
Case UpdatesLackawanna animal-control officer Frederick S. Grasso finally got his day in court Monday, testifying that he shot and killed three cats last June only after they had hissed and spat at him from the basement of a Lackawanna apartment complex.
"I opened the door, I took two steps downstairs, and three cats - the mother and two kittens - came at me," Grasso testified at his daylong trial on two misdemeanor charges. "They were all hissing and spitting at me."
Grasso then went back to his vehicle and grabbed his rifle.
"At that point, the safest means to dispose of those cats was to shoot them," Grasso told West Seneca Town Justice Richard B. Scott.
The case was transferred to West Seneca because it had generated so much comment and publicity in Lackawanna.
Asked later by defense attorney Arcangelo J. Petricca whether he had any alternative to shooting the cats, Grasso replied: "No, I don't believe there was any alternative. There was no safe way to remove those cats."
The nonjury trial also heard testimony from six prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses. After the daylong proceeding, Scott reserved decision until Feb. 20.
The conflicting testimony presented two widely varying accounts of the three cats that were shot June 10 on Eagan Drive.
Prosecution witnesses, including neighbors and officials of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, portrayed the slain cats and four surviving kittens from the same family as docile, friendly animals that purred and even jumped onto neighbors' laps.
Barbara S. Carr, executive director of the Erie County SPCA, examined the four surviving kittens about two weeks after the shootings.
"They were perfectly normal kittens," Carr told the court. "They were friendly, purring, liked to be touched and didn't struggle to get away."
Michael P. Felicetta, an Erie County assistant district attorney, asked Patricia Murtha, a neighbor from Eagan Drive in Lackawanna, whether the mother cat was aggressive.
"No way, no way," she replied. "Any time she came over, she craved attention."
Several other witnesses provided similar descriptions of the cats' behavior.
"[Grasso] would have you believe that the mother and her two kittens turned evil, turned nasty [that day]," Felicetta said in his closing statement.
During the trial, Scott viewed a DVD shot by SPCA Peace Officer Charles Braun about two weeks after the shootings and depicting the four surviving kittens as very playful.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with June 10," Petricca objected. "It doesn't help evaluate the situation on June 10. . . . It's irrelevant."
Much of the prosecution testimony earlier in the day focused on witnesses who had heard Grasso admit the shootings. But that testimony became moot later in the trial, when Grasso admitted to having fired the three fatal shots.
Earlier, defense witness Vera Bink, the rental manager for the Eagan Drive apartment complex, told the court about the phone call she made to Grasso after having been confronted by the mother cat in the basement.
"I told him on the phone, 'Be careful. Take caution. . . . The female cat hissed at me, and she was ready to charge the stairs,' " Bink said.
"She was afraid to enter her basement, and she feared for the safety of her tenants," Grasso testified about Bink.
Grasso faces two unclassified misdemeanor charges under the state Agriculture and Markets Law, one for cruelty to animals, the other for euthanizing a dog or cat by gunshot.
The law on which the second charge is based states that no one may euthanize a dog or cat by gunshot, except as an emergency procedure for a "dangerous dog" or a severely injured dog or cat.
As Felicetta pointed out, the statute doesn't talk about a "dangerous cat," and there's no evidence or testimony that any of the cats here were severely injured.
But Petricca, in his opening statement, argued that the euthanasia charge should be dismissed.
"This is not a euthanasia case, your honor," he said. "This is not a Kevorkian-type killing." | Source: BuffaloNews.com - Feb 10, 2009
Update posted on Feb 10, 2009 - 2:43PM |
Veteran Lackawanna Animal Control Officer Fred Grasso appeared in West Seneca Town Court today. Grasso is charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty charges for shooting a mother cat and two of her kittens last June in Lackawanna.
Grasso, the animal control officer for Lackawanna, responded to a stray cat call on June 10 of last year at an apartment complex on Eagan Drive in Lackawanna. Grasso stated once he encountered the cats in the basement, he felt threatened, and soon took out his rifle and shot the three animals.
The trial was originally scheduled in Lackawanna, but was recently switched to West Seneca. Today in court, Grasso admitted to shooting the animals, but says he had no choice because the cats were extremely dangerous. On the contrary, the SPCA claims Grasso's actions were cruel and unnecessary because the cats were friendly and gentle.
"They were so lovable," said Eagan Drive Resident Pat Murtha. "I broke down when I heard what happened to those cats. I went home and broke down."
The trial wrapped up this afternoon, and now it is up to the judge to decide if Grasso is guilty or innocent. His verdict is expected to come down in two weeks. | Source: WKBW - Feb 9, 2009
Update posted on Feb 9, 2009 - 11:01PM |
A Lackawanna animal control officer accused of animal cruelty appeared in court Tuesday morning. The felony charge against Fred Grasso has been dismissed.
He will now face two misdemeanor charges. The case will also be moved to a new venue in the Town of West Seneca.
Grasso is accused of shooting a mother car and her two kittens last month.
Grasso's attorney says he is innocent.
In a bizarre scene last week, two supporters of Grasso appeared outside the courtroom dressed up in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger costumes. | Source: WIVB - July 8, 2008
Update posted on Jul 13, 2008 - 6:08PM |
Lackawanna Mayor Norman Polanski Jr. said charges lodged against the city�s animal control officer, who is accused of shooting three cats to death, are nothing more than a �publicity stunt� by the SPCA.
Frederick S. Grasso, 60, has remained on the job as Lackawanna�s part-time dog warden/animal security officer even after the SPCA brought charges against him in the deaths of the cats he was supposed to catch at an apartment complex on Eagan Drive.
SPCA officials �went on a publicity stunt with this,� Polanski said. �I don�t believe Freddy did anything wrong.�
Grasso, who appeared in court Thursday, is charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail and a $5,000 fine if he is convicted. He has surrendered his weapon.
Barbara Carr, executive director of the SPCA, said it is �ridiculous� that Grasso has not been suspended, and questions why the mayor would think the SPCA is trying to exploit the situation.
�Why would someone think that it�s good publicity that someone killed defenseless cats?� Carr asked.
Carr said the SPCA has received dozens of calls from Lackawanna residents concerned that Grasso has remained on the job.
�This is a serious charge and I�m a little concerned that a public official is making light of this by calling it a publicity stunt,� Carr said.
Polanski said if Grasso is found guilty, he will be fired.
�There was no one there and now he�s being judged by what he did,� Polanski said. �It�s great for Monday morning quarterbacking.�
The mayor said another reason Grasso has not been suspended is that he does not know who could fill his position.
But Carr pointed out that if Grasso is not working when a complaint about a stray animal comes in, police officers address the problem. She also said there are plenty of people who can serve as animal control officer in the interim.
Grasso has served as Lackawanna�s animal control officer since May 2001. | Source: Buffalo News - June 21, 2008
Update posted on Jun 22, 2008 - 9:20PM |
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