Police Work Can Be Smelly Business; Luckily, It Wasn’t This Time

ROYAL OAK TOWNSHIP, MI — State troopers got one of those calls Thursday morning that most police — or any of us, really — never want to deal with, but hold their noses and do their jobs anyway.

A “savage skunk” was on the loose on the 21000 block of Grand Lodge.

When troopers arrived, they discovered the skunk wasn’t threatening, but was genuinely distressed after getting its head stuck in an empty yogurt cup.

“And it was kind of just running around everywhere and spraying and was pretty much in distress,” Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw told WWJ Radio.

The troopers called local animal control officials, who reportedly said that’s beyond their scope of services.

So, police lived up to their motto. “Service with a purpose, human or animal,” the MSP tweeted.

“They kind of came up with a plan,” Shaw told the radio station. “The older trooper, and probably the smarter one, used a wooden pole to kind of guide the skunk in a certain direction and distract him a little bit. The younger and faster trooper ran up as fast as he could, gently removed the cup from his head and ran off before he was sprayed.”

No one was sprayed or had to bathe in tomato juice, Shaw said, referencing folklore that bathing in tomato juice will wash away the skunk stench.

“The skunk gave a quick nod of appreciation and ran off,” MSP tweeted.

Image credit: Michigan State Police