Cat set free 'without charge' after entering VicPD vehicle during impaired-driving investigation
A Victoria police officer says a curious cat has been released without charges after it snuck into his police cruiser on Sunday morning.
The "unauthorized occupant in a patrol vehicle" entered the police car around 2 a.m., after the officer had pulled over a car.
Victoria police say the officer was in the James Bay area when they were flagged down by a driver.
The driver told the officer they were concerned about another car that was being driven erratically.
The officer found the vehicle and pulled it over in the 500-block of Kingston Street, where the driver showed signs of drug impairment, according to VicPD.
"So I pulled over a driver and while I'm talking to her this character here decided to jump into my car," the officer says in a video posted to social media Monday.
"Hey. Hey you, you can't just jump into my car," the officer says to the cat, which paces on his dashboard.
"Well, I guess you can," he concludes.
Police say the driver of the stopped vehicle initially started a sobriety test but then decided to stop part way through. The driver was issued a 24-hour driving ban and their vehicle was towed from the scene, police say.
Meanwhile, the friendly cat was allowed to go free "without charge," according to VicPD.
A community member tells CTV News that the cat appears to be a neighbourhood pet named Cazador that lives in the James Bay area and is sometimes spotted exploring shops and patios nearby.
Victoria police are reminding all residents to find a safe way home after a night out.
"If you are using drugs or alcohol, do not drive," said VicPD on Monday. "Take a taxi, use transit or plan for a designated driver."
"Even having your vehicle towed home is a safer and significantly cheaper alternative to an immediate roadside prohibition, criminal impaired driving charge or harming or killing someone."
Anyone who thinks they saw an impaired driver on the road is asked to call 911.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.