In 2022, Wetumpka, Alabama, police violently arrested two elderly women and charged them with a litany of criminal offenses. Their crime? Taking care of stray cats. The pair has now sued the officers, arguing that their arrest and the resulting charges against them were unconstitutional and caused “significant physical and emotional injuries.”
According to the complaint, Mary Alston, who was 60 at the time, often worked with Beverly Roberts who was then 84, to “trap-neuter-return” (TNR) feral cats. TNR is a common strategy of limiting stray cat populations by safely capturing cats, having them spayed or neutered by a veterinary clinic, and releasing or putting them up for adoption. According to their complaint, Roberts and Alston took up this practice because “neither the Humane Society nor any other animal rights organization had the resources to conduct TNR in or around the City of Wetumpka.”
On June 25, 2022, Alston was setting up a trap for a feral cat on local public property when she saw Wetumpka Mayor Jerry Willis drive past, followed by police vehicles. However, within minutes the three police officers who had been trailing Willis turned around and approached Alston.