Troy Police Will Get Police Cat If They Hit Twitter Goal

Troy Police welcomed some very special guests Friday, when cats from the Michigan Humane Society visited the police station as part of an ongoing social media campaign aimed at getting the department 10,000 Twitter followers…and a cuddly new police cat.

The department’s Twitter feed has been a steady source of humor and weirdness since 2012. On Tuesday, the department Tweeted “Trying to broker this deal now: If we get 10,000 followers by April, we want a police cat. If you support this important public safety initiative, follow us & RT.”

The campaign has drawn support from across the country, including a note from the writer/star of Super Troopers, Paul Soter, who said he was “feline good” about the department’s police cat chances. But what would a police cat do? The Troy Police’s Twitter has a few ideas. When one poster asked “What is police cat's scope of work?” the department replied “TBD, but definitely ‘peace officer.’ Others in the thread suggested a pre-employment catnip screening. An epic series of cat memes followed.

And, then, the Michigan State Police got involved.

“I’m afraid I can’t use the language spoken around the kennel after they saw your post. Let’s just say they are not amused,” said a Tweet from the MSP account that included an animated GIF of Homer Simpson saying “Nope.”

The campaign, which seems to have started as a joke, gained so much momentum that by Friday, there were stories on local TV news, and even a Michigan Public Radio Stateside segment dedicated to the possibility of paw-having Persians on police patrol. The Michigan Human Society took the opportunity to publicize cat rescue and adoption, bringing a curated collection of cute kitties to the police station for what appeared to be very tough job interviews.

By Friday afternoon, the department has 6,681 followers, so more than 3,000 people would need to follow the Troy Police in just over three weeks to make the police cat dream a police cat reality. According to the Troy Police’s Twitter feed, “Studies show that 10 out of 10 people want police cats (American Association of Police Cats, 2018).” Calls to the AAPC weren’t returned, as that group is entirely made up, but 10 out of 10 Twitter commenters following the prank agree that police cats are the wave of the future.

Sgt. Meghan Lehman, Public Information Officer for the Troy Police, said the post surprised everyone by going viral, but that it created an opportunity to help local shelter pets. “We’re looking to work with the Humane Society on the adoption of some shelter cats. It’s gotten a lot of momentum, and we’re hoping to help cats and other animals in need of a home,” she said, adding that Friday’s visit from the Humane Society cats was part of this collaborative effort.

Lehman says Troy Police use the Twitter account as a way of creating positive interactions with community members. She notes they’ve had media attention for the account before.

“We’ve had a few viral posts before and we found it brings a positive sense of community,” Lehman said. “The idea is to humanize the badge and help people understand what we do on a daily basis so we can work with the community,” she added.

The accidental campaign has put pressure on the department to follow through with a formal cat plan. Since the post went viral, “We’re getting about a thousand new followers a day,” Lehman said. “That’s why we’re under the gun. We don’t want to let people down. We do love cats - that’s a big part of it, too.” Lehman isn’t sure a cat can live at the police station full time, but thinks an officer would step up as cat dad or cat mom, giving the feline a fur-ever home, and bringing the department kitty to work to perform any official police cat duties.

However the cat arrives, it will arrive, Lehman said.

“We are going to follow through and incorporate a cat in the police department,” she promised.

If you’d like a non-police cat, the Michigan Humane Society has you covered. You can visit them online, or check out adoptable pets at their adoption center at 7887 Chrysler Drive, Detroit.

Top photo courtesy of Troy Police.