Massachusetts

Cambridge Cop Helps Skunk in Distress, Gets ‘Stinky Punishment' for His Trouble

"Officer McGinty's good deed led to a stinky punishment (and multiple showers)," police said

A wayward skunk proved the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished when it got in some trouble Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday.

The skunk had a cup on its head and was wandering in circles through a parking lot in apparent distress, according to video shared by Cambridge police from the incident at around 6:30 a.m. in Danehy Dog Park.

Lucky for the stuck skunk, Officer Dan McGinty was on hand and wanted to help out. In the video, he gingerly reaches for the confused animal, backing away a few times before managing to pluck the cup from its head.

The skunk rewarded McGinty by turning tail and, despite what the officer says at the end of the video, spraying McGinty before he even managed to scamper away, his department said.

"Officer McGinty's good deed led to a stinky punishment (and multiple showers)," a police official said in an email. 

The skunk was uninjured, police said, and while it may not have been very grateful to McGinty, at least commenters on the police department's Facebook post showing the video were.

"Now that's what I call above and beyond the call of duty," one wrote.

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