On December 8, 2022, in a quiet alleyway of Sparks, Nevada, 84-year-old Maureen was doing what she’s done for years, setting out shelter and food for the feral cats she cares for.
Maureen has lived in this neighborhood for nearly two decades, much of it in Section 8 housing. Despite the area’s decline as people moved to newer developments, this has remained her home, a place where she can live independently and continue her daily acts of kindness toward animals and even the occasional homeless person passing through.
Behind Maureen’s home sits Sparks Fire Station No. 1. For years, firefighters there have mocked and harassed her, calling her “the Crazy Cat Lady”, not as a term of endearment, but as a way to demean her for caring about these animals. Feeding feral cats isn’t a crime in Sparks; it’s actually protected by city ordinance.
But on that freezing December afternoon, things turned violent. Fireman-paramedic Tim Egan walked into the alley, startling Maureen. Security footage from the fire station shows her struggling to gather her belongings with her arthritic hands when Egan suddenly grabbed her and leg-swept her to the ground, smashing her head into the concrete.
Her frail body bounced off the pavement.
She was 84 years old.
She was feeding cats.
And she was attacked.
This seemed unprovoked. It was brutal. And it was caught on camera.
We have to ask: Why was this allowed to happen? Why was an elderly woman targeted instead of protected? And why has there been so little accountability?
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