Firefighters Retrieve, Revive Tiny Kitten

Watch how firefighters rescued and then revived a trapped kitten in the Brookside development — then read all about it, and other public safety incidents on the west side of the town.

The video, photos and write-up come courtesy of top West Hills/ West Rock/ Westville/ Amity/ Beverly Hills cop Lt. Rose Dell. Following is her weekly summary of events:

FROM 8/11/19 to 8/17/19 POLICE RESPONDED TO 175 CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE WESTVILLE/WEST HILLS SECTION OF NEW HAVEN. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF NOTABLE INCIDENTS:

On Sunday morning, a resident of the Brookside housing complex heard a kitten trapped in a PVC pipe near a sewer. Officer Joseph Staffieri tried several different methods to either lure or pull the kitten out. He placed sticks into the pipe for the kitten to grab onto and placed cat food into the pipe, but the kitten appeared to be stuck. The Fire Department arrived and contacted United Illuminating and Xfinity to ensure that it would be safe to dig into the ground to dissemble the conduit piping. They determined that the wires were not live and the FD, along with UI and Xfinity, began to dig. After six hours of digging, they located the kitten trapped underneath wires inside of the pipe. The kitten was removed but then fell limp. Captain Perez of the FD performed CPR and gave the kitten some oxygen. The kitten awoke, opened its eyes and started to meow. Animal control responded to bring the kitten to the shelter.

A resident on West Hills Road reported that on 8/11 at around 2 pm, he saw two young males around thirteen to fifteen years of age in his driveway. The males were on bikes and then walked up to his unlocked front door. One of the males was about to walk into the residence when the homeowner was able to quickly shut the door and lock it. The males then rode off on their bikes. The resident saw the males twice more in the street in front of his residence this same afternoon. He also informed the Officer that the residence was under construction and vacant for about a year, and his girlfriend just moved into the home in July.

On 8/11, a resident of the 400 Blake Street apartments reported a burglary. His Juggernaut watch and his roommate’s Les Paul guitar and a black Fender AMP were stolen. There were no signs of forced entry, and the door may have been left unlocked.

On Monday morning, an employee of Safari Stan Pet Center reported a theft that occurred last week. An audit of their inventory revealed items that were missing. They reviewed the store’s surveillance cameras and saw an unknown female entered the store last Wednesday and loaded her tote bag with animal toys and accessories. She then walked towards the front of the store and grabbed a tortoise on her way out. She is described as a heavy-set white female, around 40 – 45 years of age, wearing a black tank top, pink shorts, and black sandals.

This week residents reported six car break-ins. Sometime overnight on 8/13, around $10 was stolen from an unlocked car on Hemlock Road. On the same night, a pink coin purse and a flip style cell phone was stolen from an unlocked vehicle on Westerleigh Road. A customer at the Top Kat Laudromat left her wallet on the front seat of her vehicle. The purse contained $75 in cash and a money order for her rent payment. Sometime overnight on 8/13, a resident on Victory Drive found all the windows to his Cadillac smashed and the interior slashed and torn apart. His Apple laptop was stolen. A resident of the 1900 block of Chapel Street had approximately $400 worth of jewelry stolen from her unlocked Jeep. A 2008 Toyota Yaris was stolen from this area on the same night. A company gas card was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked on Englewood Drive on 8/15.

On 8/13, a 2015 Volkswagen Passat was stolen from a parking lot near South Genesee Street. The resident said one of the keys to the vehicle had been stolen from her residence around a week ago. The vehicle had a tracking device and the resident’s daughter used an app called ​“Car Net” and located the vehicle in the Taco Bell parking lot on Foxon Boulevard. Another vehicle was stolen sometime between 8/15 – 8/16 from Westwood Road. The resident’s pocketbook and cell phone were also in the vehicle.

Police responded to an alarm at Cricket Wireless on Whalley Avenue on 8/14 at around 3 am. A keyholder arrived and noticed that a rear door, that was normally left open, was now closed and locked. The Officers conducted a search and found a hole in the wall of the men’s bathroom. The police canine jumped through the opening in the wall and located a juvenile. The juvenile had stolen a cell phone charger. He was brought to police headquarters to be fingerprinted and photographed and was issued a juvenile misdemeanor summons.

On 8/14, a male customer left his gym bag on the sidewalk before he entered the medical marijuana dispensary on Whalley Avenue. He offered no explanation as to why he would leave his bag on the sidewalk while he was inside the store. While he was in the dispensary, the bag, containing a Seiko watch, clothing, grooming items and sunglasses, was stolen. Video surveillance showed a young male run across the lot with the bag and then enter a red color sedan. 

A resident on Central Avenue reported that her gold necklace with diamonds was stolen from her home sometime in the afternoon on 8/15. She left the house at around noon and when she returned at 3:30 pm, she found the front door wide open. The necklace, which was worth $26,000, was stolen from her bedroom. There were no signs of forced entry, but the resident noticed after the burglary that the deadbolt did not work properly.

On 8/17, police responded to Citgo Gas Station on Whalley Avenue on an assault. A customer gave a panhandler some loose change as she walked into the store. He demanded more money and followed her in. She tried to ward him off by throwing a banana at him, but he punched her in the face and knocked her into a red bull display. The subject fled on foot east on Whalley Avenue towards Fitch Street. He was described as a black male, approximately 5’9” with a mohawk, wearing a blue shirt with pink designs, gray shorts and black shoes.

A home being renovated on Fowler Street was burglarized sometime this week. The contractor found the rear door of the residence had been pried open. The stainless-steel refrigerator and oven that had just been installed were stolen. Officer Patrick Bengston will follow-up with a neighbor that may have video surveillance of the theft.