When North Catasauqua resident Tom New- hart attends the Jan. 4 borough council meeting, he will be calling for the resignation of a part-time borough police officer.

“I for one do not want this type of reckless officer serving our borough,” Newhart told The Press last week.

The Hunter Street resident’s beef with Officer Leighton Pursell stems from Pursell’s shooting of his 6-year-old pet cat, Sugar, in a neighbor’s yard Dec. 6.

He said he had reported the cat missing that evening and found out the following afternoon what had occurred.

“She must have sneaked out when we let the dogs out around 9 p.m.,” Newhart said. “We didn’t know it for a couple hours.”

A neighbor on American Street, Mike Leinert had called police when he saw Sugar near his back door that night. She had hissed at him when he tried to pick her up and then hid under a barbecue grill cover.

Leinert later told New- hart that Pursell attempted to pick the cat up with the same result.

When Pursell told Leinert he was going to put the cat down by shooting her, Leinert went inside his home because he did not agree with the action and did not want to see it happen.

Newhart says this is not how the borough should handle lost cats, as there are kennels at the police station for keeping pets who have strayed from home.

“Any cat could hiss at a stranger,” Newhart said. “This is normal behavior.”

Sugar’s body was examined and X-rayed at Stanglein Veterinary Clinic, and a report shows no signs of other injuries were found except for the fatal gunshot wound.

“A small, obviously domesticated cat was not worthy of his malicious and extreme action of ending her life,” Newhart wrote in an email to The Press. “Officer Pursell had many options here and, in my opinion, did not follow any type of protocol and make an honest effort to capture her. In my opinion, he rushed to get the police call done and over with.

“He could have easily put on some gloves and captured her. Officers of the law are supposed to serve and protect, not be the judge, jury and executioner of someone’s lost pet.”

Newhart says he will be sending a letter of complaint to the borough about Pursell and will attend the next council meeting to call for his resignation.

Police Chief Kim Moyer did not return phone calls from The Press since the incident. The borough office said borough Solicitor Steven Goudsouzian was handling all calls about the cat.

“We are going to have someone conduct an official investigation,” Goudsouzian told The Press Monday.

Goudsouzian said he did not want to discuss standard procedures for police officers dealing with animals, as it would be wise to leave that up to the investigator, should one be appointed.

In the meantime, as a part-time officer, Pursell continues to work in the police department.

“No one has taken any action against him, good or bad,” Goudsouzian said.

He said at the Jan. 4 council meeting, the council will likely hold an executive session, during which it will decide if an investigation is warranted and, if so, who should be appointed to conduct it.

In the meantime, borough officials have made a decision to lock the municipal building doors and allow access to the building only when a borough employee opens it.

Borough Treasurer Annette Englert said a member of the office staff will open the door when someone rings the bell.

Borough Secretary Nancy Knecht indicated it’s a measure that needs to be taken until the borough council approves construction of a more secure office environment.

“People are crazy over this cat thing,” she said.