Police: Man caught strangling hawk in downtown park
SEATTLE -- Police say a man accused of strangling a hawk in downtown Seattle Monday afternoon could face animal cruelty charges.
Officers were called to Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market at around 4 p.m. after getting calls about a man harming a bird.
When they they arrived, the officers encountered a man holding what they later learned was a Cooper's Hawk. The man, who police say appeared intoxicated, wouldn't let the bird go. Police say he swore at them and tried to walk away.
With help from Pike Place Market security, the officers grabbed the man and tried to wrestle the bird away from him. The man struggled with the officers and allegedly tightened his grip on the bird, though he eventually let go.
Police arrested the man and turned the hawk over to the PAWS animal shelter. Vets examined the bird and determined it had sustained blunt trauma and had a severely injured wing that would keep it from ever flying normally again.
Due to the the severity of the injuries, the vets were forced to euthanize the bird, according to police.
PAWS staff and police investigators are now trying to figure out if the man in the park is responsible for all the hawk's injuries or if it was already injured when he grabbed it.
Whatever the outcome, police say the man could still face animal cruelty charges for squeezing the bird. Police are also looking into whether he violated the federal Migratory Bird Act, which protects birds like the Cooper's Hawk.
Officers were called to Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market at around 4 p.m. after getting calls about a man harming a bird.
When they they arrived, the officers encountered a man holding what they later learned was a Cooper's Hawk. The man, who police say appeared intoxicated, wouldn't let the bird go. Police say he swore at them and tried to walk away.
With help from Pike Place Market security, the officers grabbed the man and tried to wrestle the bird away from him. The man struggled with the officers and allegedly tightened his grip on the bird, though he eventually let go.
Police arrested the man and turned the hawk over to the PAWS animal shelter. Vets examined the bird and determined it had sustained blunt trauma and had a severely injured wing that would keep it from ever flying normally again.
Due to the the severity of the injuries, the vets were forced to euthanize the bird, according to police.
PAWS staff and police investigators are now trying to figure out if the man in the park is responsible for all the hawk's injuries or if it was already injured when he grabbed it.
Whatever the outcome, police say the man could still face animal cruelty charges for squeezing the bird. Police are also looking into whether he violated the federal Migratory Bird Act, which protects birds like the Cooper's Hawk.
For all those interested, Coopers Hawks as well as ALL birds of prey are protected by federal and state laws. No one othe then those licensd to handle them, may touch them. This was no "pet" and should have been reported as being imjured or handled to the state game and fish.
"Police - encountered a man holding what they later learned was a Cooper's Hawk." - key word "holding"
"With help from Pike Place Market security, the officers grabbed the man and tried to wrestle the bird away from him. The man struggled with the officers and allegedly tightened his grip on the bird, though he eventually let go." - key words "grabbed the man and tried to wrestle the bird away" -
- what, they couldn't take the time to talk to him???
get animal control there?
what were the officers going to do w/ the hawk when they got it? put it in a patrol car?
sounds to me like the overzealous police caused the injuries
(if the bird wasn't already injured which is the most likely case - the 'drunk' was probably trying to help the injured bird and if the officers had waited for animal control the bird may be alive today)
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oh and "later learned it was a Coopers Hawk" - while it may have been illegal for the man to be holding a Coopers Hawk the police didn't know that is what it was - they 'wrestled away' what for all they knew was the man's pet
 @jml I was on scene as they were struggling to cuff the man. There were many people there who had seen him trying to rip the wings off the bird. You're talking like you know a lot about things, but you don't know much of anything about quite a bit.
FYI - my comments are based on the reporting which, of course, could be inaccurate
How in the world would a drunk be able to catch a hawk? Was the bird already injured? What did he have against it?
I was expecting to read a story about an angry SEAHAWKÂ fan....
One less drunk in that park now.
I have more sympathy for animals than I do humans. I wasn't brought up to be this way, but with everything I hear and read in the news, I've lost all hope for mankind.
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We need tougher laws for animal abuse.
Hey KOMO, whay aren't you reporting on this dirtbag? http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019346453_chambers05m.html
People making jokes about this are not funny. That bird was in pain and probably very frightened about what was happening to it. Here's a headline folks - ANIMALS FEEL PAIN AND FEAR JUST LIKE WE DO!!!!
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Would you be joking if this was about a dog or cat? Oh silly me! Of course there would be people stupid enough to make light of it.
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Go stick your heads back in the sand....................
My God. The world is going mad.
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Mothers killing their babies, the man who allowed his dog to kill a chihuahua in front of a 12 year old, people being robbed in the U district, a man shot to death at a traffic light near Green Lake, the man beaten to death and dumped in Graham, a woman beaten to death and dumped in an Everett parking lot, the sniper shootings in Arlington...on and on.
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Where does it all stop?
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If people value others as much as themselves and make it a habit to practice "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"Â maybe the quality of life will begin to improve.Â
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Hear, Hear! It's enough to make you want to move to some remote mountain top and screw it all.
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ManKIND? I think not..............
Hear, Hear! It's enough to make you want to move to some remote mountain top and screw it all.
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ManKIND? I think not :(
Tune in next week for another exciting episode of,  The Falconer!!!!
 @Sven Svensen Uhm no.  Falconers love the birds, treat them with care and respect and appreciation, and are VERY protective of their well being.  And yes, this drunk twit violated the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act... among laws.
@Sven Svensen You're as bad as the idiot doing the strangling. It isn't funny. Imagine the pain and fear the falcon was feeling. Yes, animals feel pain and fear just like us. Novel thought, huh!
Lighten Up!!
Now thats something you don't see every day.
My vote goes for the bird being already injured. Â How could a drunk guy catch a hawk? Â Too bad it had to be euthanized, they are beautiful birds.
Maybe the hawk mugged the dude and drunk guy was trying to get his Obama cheese sandwich back?
@Jeeper You're an idiot, too. This isn't funny. Whether the bird was already injured or not, it ISN'T funny.
@Jeeper This has nothing whatsoever to do with Obama or any other politician. Thanks for commenting.
At least he wasn't choking a chicken. Maybe he should get a grip? Was there an accomplice? Because "birds of a feather flock together"!
This state needs an animal cruelty register NOW. Same as the sexual predator registry.
... and the city will keep him out of parks for a year. That will teach him a lesson.
What, no KFC near by?
Why euthanize the poor bird, vets go too quickly to the kill option. This guy may have done this by accident when trying to keep the bird, but in any case he as to pay for what he did to the poor creature.
 @Damian I worked at a veterinary clinic for years, and I can tell you that the "kill option" is never the first option. The bird was severely injured after being crushed and choked, it's very unfortunate, but really not useful to put blame on the people that tried to save the animal.
 @AesopsTables  @Damian Sorry, but Damian is right.  Since vets know very little about raptor physiology, they do kill all too often... sometimes even intentionally.
Monster.
How, in the devil, when you are a street drunk, do you catch a freaking HAWK? I seriously believe this guy is Hancock.
what a loser. makes me so angry to read this story.
 When I first saw the headline, I thought maybe a frustrated pro football fan (Packer Fan perhaps?) got a hold of one of our players in a downtown park!
Put him in a rear naked choke, after breaking his arms first, it sounds fair to me.
Im shocked the Police didnt shoot first. And yes the dude show go to jail.
@Bonner That's right. Every single Seattle police officer is trained to shoot first and ask questions later. Every single cop is bad, right?????
 @Bonner use english...thanks
Gotta be a Greenbay Fan!
 @makeadifference lol too soon
@Tristan Avenged Thielman I know... worried it was too soon but it had to be said
How did he manage to catch a hawk they don't usually get close to humans like Pigeons. Â He should be charged and prosecuted.
 @Eric Hutcheson I might be wrong, I'm no hawk expert, but in the picture this bird looks like it might be a very young one, and perhaps had an injury before he got ahold of it.
Ok. Here's a thought. Someone on here...media or otherwise post the NAME of this looser. There has got to be someone out there who knows exactly who did this and then got arrested. Anyone???
 @My opinion is I'm going out on a limb here... but I bet it's safe to say it's a drunk transient....
Drunk POS. This is no way to treat an animal of any kind. Glad people intervened and this bird was able to be taken somewhere for care. Sad he had to be euthanized... but it sure beats being in that loser's hands until the end.
That's just pathetic. He should be made to work at local animal shelters cleaning cages. Maybe he can learn something from normal people who love animals.
 @plantfann Maybe he can clean the cages with his mouth! Ya, I am being gross but what he did sickens me.Â
Nope. No cages to clean. Do not give this worthless drunk any opportunity to be around ANY animals ever again....he will inflict more injury at his first opportunity.
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What is with some of the comments on here that are making it seem like this WORTHLESS drunk slob could not be responsible for this poor innocent bird's injuries???
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He may not have squeezed him too tight...how could a drunk be capable of harming a bird with these injuries...ahhh it could be possible that this bird already HAD these injuries...etc.....?????????????????
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C'mon now people this drunk needs to be charged on every single account regarding animal cruelty and more. There is NO excuse for tolerating these worthless vermin disgusting ugly DRUNKS!
Poor bird :(