'You Dirty Rat': San Mateo Police Gets A Sticky Surprise While Responding To Burglary Call

SAN MATEO, CA — A suspect got away after a San Mateo police officer ended up in a sticky situation Wednesday while responding to a burglary call, police said.

There appears to be no immediate threat to the public because the suspected burglar is a rat.

An alarm at a business was triggered that night, and when officers responded, they found an unsecured door but no signs of a burglary, the San Mateo Police Department said.

That's when the suspect, a large rat, suddenly appeared, causing an officer to "scream like a teenage girl watching her favorite boy band perform," police said.

The officer jumped around at the sight of the rat as if he was playing "the floor is lava," and got himself stuck on five sticky traps, police said.

Thinking something was wrong, the officer's partner ran to him, only to find the threat skittering across the top of his boot, police said.

But unlike the other officer, this one "maintained 'courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule' just like the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics expects, and conducted an officer rescue," police said.

The rat managed to escape, police said, avoiding the heavy, cold grasp of the officer's cuffs against its tiny little paws.

"The rat got away and is still outstanding," police said, adding, "You dirty rat..."

In the end, the department concluded, "We do know rat traps also work on humans, and had there been an actual burglar, the rat likely would have detained him for us."

The officer who got caught in the traps appeared to laugh off the incident in a photo posted by the San Mateo Police Department.

The officer was eventually freed from the traps with the help of his partner, police said.