Was the officer doing his job or was this an act of animal cruelty? A cell phone video shows a cop pepper spraying a baby squirrel in front of a group of students.

Animal activists groups were angry after seeing the video but did the police officer do the right thing? His police department and the school that called him seem to think so.

Texas officer Sgt. Wes Talley of the Mesquite Police Department was called by the Kimbrough Middle School after reports of a squirrel chasing children and getting unusually close. There was a fear that the squirrel had rabbies. When the police officer arrived, the baby squirrel without fear charged at him in the video. Talley took out his pepper spray and stabilized the situation.

In the background children are heard screaming "Don't spray him" and calling the officer "crazy." The short cellphone video clip however does not show the entire confrontation with the squirrel nor its erratic behavior towards noise and aggressive postures. It's extremely noticeable that something wasn't right with the squirrel because when the children started screaming (out of fear of the squirrel) the squirrel kept trying to get closer.

Squirrels are classified in the rodent family and are known to carry a range of diseases that could be a threat to humans and wild life. Had the officer not have taken the measures he did, and a child had gotten bitten, the political downfall would have been much worse.

The squirrel was taken in by animal voluteers, examined, and released back into the wild. The squirrel was not harmed in the incident. (c) tPC