Putnam was in the store in Mountain City when employees spotted the squirrel. Putnam first responded by shooting at the squirrel and then used his pepper spray. Even if one were to use lethal force on a squirrel, it is curious why you would use the gun before the pepper spray.
To make matters worse, Putnam did not report the discharging of his weapon in a store — let alone at a small rodent. Presumably, he hit the squirrel since it reported as dead as Putnam’s law enforcement career.
Putnam is an experienced officer. He spent 14 years with another department and has been with the Mountain City police department for five years.