[Scourge of Ages]

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/28268280/detail.html?source=bal

BALTIMORE -- A police officer was attacked by a rat while riding to a crime scene in a patrol car earlier this week.

Baltimore police confirmed that the officer was riding in the passenger seat of an unmarked patrol car Wednesday while cruising down Hanover Street when he felt something on the back of his neck.

The officer swiped at his neck and discovered the big rodent crawling up his back, police said. The rat bit his palm and thumb before the officer was able to throw it out of the car window.

Police said the officer's partner rushed him to Harbor Hospital, where they were told they had to retrieve the rat to test it for diseases.

The officer said he and his partner went back to where they threw the rat out, found it limping along the road and, after a small struggle, one of the officers beat the rat to death with an umbrella and bagged it.

The officer who was bitten is currently out on leave waiting to see if the rat is diseased.

Police said it's believed that the rat crawled up through the car's underbelly and bit apart some wires before it crawled into the back seat.

The local radio talk show guys read this story on the air, and when they got to the part where "one of the officers beat the rat to death with an umbrella" I cracked up laughing, because at that instant, this is what I saw in my head:

[General Battuta]

Pretty sure I saw this happen on The Wire (except the rat was a black teenager)

[Shivan Hunter]

I don't believe they exist.

[StarSlayer]

Rodents of Unusual Size?

[T-LoW]

too saturated

[Mongoose]

POLICE BRUTALITY!!!

[Marcov]

If I recall there WERE rhinoceros-sized rodents before...

...the only surviving species is that, killed by some police guy.

[Pred the Penguin]

POLICE BRUTALITY!!!

This instead of a giant rodent is the first thing that comes to mind.

I wonder what the rat's family is gonna do...

[Dragon]

Seriously, this story isn't as funny as it sounds. It's a good thing they were able to find and kill that rat and didn't got attacked by it. These rodents may have some similarities to mice on the first glance, but are completely unlike them. Aside from chewing throught concrete (metal car body is nothing to them), they also can be agressive and carry nasty diseases, not to mention they're very though (the fact of surviving being thrown out of window of a moving car says something). I've heard about rats sometimes killing cats and even small dogs. This one, appearantely, wasn't that big (they didn't had to shot him and the poor officer still had his thumb), but still could be very dangerous. I'd say they were actually quite lucky.

[Snail]

they didn't had to shot him

Is that how you deal with rats?

[Kosh]

Pretty sure I saw this happen on The Wire (except the rat was a black teenager)

Pics or it didn't happen.

[Turambar]

So I saw a mud crab the other day, disgusting creatures

[The E]

Seriously, this story isn't as funny as it sounds.

Yes, yes it is.

[Marcov]

Seriously, this story isn't as funny as it sounds. It's a good thing they were able to find and kill that rat and didn't got attacked by it. These rodents may have some similarities to mice on the first glance, but are completely unlike them. Aside from chewing throught concrete (metal car body is nothing to them), they also can be agressive and carry nasty diseases, not to mention they're very though (the fact of surviving being thrown out of window of a moving car says something). I've heard about rats sometimes killing cats and even small dogs. This one, appearantely, wasn't that big (they didn't had to shot him and the poor officer still had his thumb), but still could be very dangerous. I'd say they were actually quite lucky.

Seriously, this isn't as funny as it sounds. It's kind of disturbing for some people to have a rat killed so brutally and yet treated casually.

What would you do if one of your loved ones had colds, walked near a 100 foot giant something and then, out of fear, shoved him off, breaking his legs. Then you think, all is safe, until TWO giants come in and one of them grabs a pine tree and smashes him to death.

[General Battuta]

Seriously, this story isn't as funny as it sounds. It's a good thing they were able to find and kill that rat and didn't got attacked by it. These rodents may have some similarities to mice on the first glance, but are completely unlike them. Aside from chewing throught concrete (metal car body is nothing to them), they also can be agressive and carry nasty diseases, not to mention they're very though (the fact of surviving being thrown out of window of a moving car says something). I've heard about rats sometimes killing cats and even small dogs. This one, appearantely, wasn't that big (they didn't had to shot him and the poor officer still had his thumb), but still could be very dangerous. I'd say they were actually quite lucky.

Seriously, this isn't as funny as it sounds. It's kind of disturbing for some people to have a rat killed so brutally and yet treated casually.

What would you do if one of your loved ones had colds, walked near a 100 foot giant something and then, out of fear, shoved him off. Then you think, all is safe, until TWO giants come in and one of them grabs a pine tree and smashes him to death.

eulalia

[NGTM-1R]

eulalia

They're rats.

I think a "Cluny! KILL! KILL!" is more appropriate.

[General Battuta]

I am celebrating the death of the vermin at the hands of the Long Patrol that guards our borders.

[Kosh]

Yeah, native rats only!

[Dragon]

Is that how you deal with rats?

If a rat is very large (Brown Rats can reach up to 25cm, and that's not counting the tail) and aggressive, then it's a perfectly valid option.
Though ussualy with a normal pest control round, like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_shot

[Snail]

If only the Abbey had a couple artillery pieces filled with ratshot.