See also: New Times special report: Polygamy in Arizona
See also: Mohave County Sheriff's Office to Patrol Colorado City
See also: Colorado City Sued by Justice Department
See also: Someone Buried a Cat Up to Its Head in Concrete on Ex-FLDS Member's Property
PETA's kind of in an awkward spot right now, as the animal lovers plan to forward tips to Colorado City's "Marshal's Office" in the case of the cat buried up to its head in concrete.
That's because that same Marshal's Office is accused by the Justice Department of slaughtering two cities worth of dogs about a decade ago, and two of those marshal's deputies remain employed there to this day.
PETA's offering a $2,500 reward to anyone who provides the tip leading to the arrest of the monster who buried a live cat up to its head in concrete, which had set by the time it was discovered.
A PETA spokeswoman told the Associated Press that the organization was forwarding the tips to the Marshal's Office, and didn't immediately respond to New Times email noting the mass dog slaughter.
According to the Justice Department lawsuit, it was 2001 when child rapist/former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs called for a ban of dogs in both Colorado City and its neighboring town of Hildale, Utah.
"Less than one month later, in compliance with Jeffs's edict, Marshal's Deputies went toeach household in the Cities and asked residents to turn over any dogs that they had inthe home to the Officers," the lawsuit says. "The Marshal's Deputies then shot and killed the dogs in a slaughter pit a short distance from the Cities."
Then, in 2010, the Marshal's Office found a horse.
"[T]he Marshal's Office departed from its normal procedures in handling a stud horse who escaped from its non-FLDS owner," the lawsuit says. "The Marshal's Office caused the horse to be euthanized without contacting the owner. Members of the Marshal's Office knew or should have known the stud horse,which had distinct markings, and they knew or should have known the identity of the horse's owner. This action was taken on the basis of the owner's religious affiliation."
In regards to the most recent cat incident -- which was found on the property of a former FLDS member -- the Marshal's office "has tabled the case, citing a lack of leads," according to a separate AP article.
A Mohave County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman told New Times today that the Sheriff's Office has started its own investigation into what happened.
Andrew Chatwin, an ex-church member who's been at odds with the town, captured video of the
cat cemented inside the pipe, as well as his attempted rescue of the
cat.
This video was shot on May 31, weeks before Colorado City was sued by the
Justice Department for its police force's alleged discrimination against
non-FLDS members, and before the Mohave County Sheriff's Office started
patrolling the town.
Chatwin thinks FLDS
members are responsible for putting the cat on the property of fellow
ex-FLDS member Isaac Wyler.
Chatwin says people he believes to be
FLDS members have been using dead cats to mess with him for quite some
time because he's no longer a member of the church.
