Bay Area Politician Is Forced To Resign After Throwing His Cat During A Zoom Meeting

There is absolutely no excuse for ever getting rough or violent with your pets. Animals are entitled to the same love and respect as anyone. When those who are inexcusably cruel to them end up having to answer for their actions, it’s cosmic justice.

One politician, Vallejo planning commissioner Chris Platzer, caused quite a bit of outrage after he was seen on video during a Zoom meeting throwing his cat.

He has since been forced to announce his resignation.

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During the April 20 Vallejo Planning Commission meeting, one of the City’s Planning Commissioners, Chris Platzer, was seen exhibiting behavior that does not model the core values of the City of Vallejo. At the request of Mayor Sampayan and Councilmember McConnell, an action item was placed on the April 28 City Council Meeting agenda that called for the immediate removal of Platzer from the Planning Commission. As of this afternoon, the City has received a formal resignation from Commissioner Platzer citing his behavior as not “…befitting of a planning commissioner…,” closing with an apology for any “harm he may have inflicted” through his actions. Many concerned citizens have reached out to both the City and the County with fears for the welfare of Mr. Platzer’s cat, seen in the April 20 video meeting. The City of Vallejo contracts with the Solano County Sheriff’s Office for Animal Control services including animal welfare investigations. The Sheriff's Office will take the lead in conducting an animal welfare investigation.

A post shared by City of Vallejo (@cityofvallejo) on Apr 27, 2020 at 9:02pm PDT

During the Zoom meeting, Platzer picked up his Bengal cat, announcing, “First, I would like to introduce my cat” before roughly chucking the feline down to the ground in front of his horrified colleagues.

In the video footage, the cat is heard meowing before hitting the ground with a discernible blow.

Understandably, plenty of Platzer’s colleagues were upset by his display on the Zoom call. While the cat was believed to have come out of the incident unharmed, the outrageous behavior has caused him to resign from his post in the San Francisco Bay Area.

But the controversy does not stop there. During the same Zoom meeting, Platzer was seen drinking beer as he made distasteful comments about a colleague of his.

In the Vallejo Times-Herald, Platzer offered up an apology, pinning the responsibility of his actions on the air of uncertainty brought on by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Platzer said, “I did not conduct myself in the Zoom meeting in a manner befitting of a planning commissioner and apologize for any harm I may have inflicted. I serve at the pleasure of the council and no longer have that trust and backing. I extend my gratitude to those who have supported me during my tenure.”

He added, “I have always felt that serving Vallejo in a voluntary position is honorable because Vallejo is worth serving. We are all living in uncertain times and I certainly, like many of you, am adjusting to a new normalcy.”

Platzer’s colleagues have already stated that, had he not made the decision to resign himself, they were definitely planning to forcibly remove him from office. And that is a good shout – there is absolutely no reason to throw your cat. As for Platzer’s excuse? We’re all stressed out by the pandemic’s uncertainty, but you don’t see the rest of us throwing cats, do you? No.

Remember, kindness to animals – always.

from The Animal Rescue Site Blog https://ift.tt/2WgrXGR