Heroes of the week: Albany, NY Police Rescue Bear

 Police officers never know what they're going to get called to do, or who they'll be called to help. In the case of the police in Albany, New York, they were called to help get a bear out of a tree and return him to the woods. Here's the story:

(Caption: In this photo provided by the City of Albany Police Department, a black bear rests in a tree in Washington Park, a residential neighborhood about a half mile from the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The bear fell into a safety net after a wildlife crew used a fire department ladder truck to get in close enough to immobilize the animal. (City of Albany Police Department via AP))

Bear removed from tree in Albany, heading back to woods 

May 31, 2022

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)

— A black bear wandered into Albany, climbed a tree several blocks from the state Capitol and rested on branches about 30 feet (nine meters) up Tuesday before workers tranquilized the animal and caught it in a net.

The bear plunged into the net in the early afternoon after a state wildlife crew used a fire department ladder truck to get in close to immobilize the animal. The bear had climbed a towering pine tree on the edge of Washington Park in a residential neighborhood about a half mile from the Capitol.

The sprawling park is in the center of Albany, hemmed in by busy streets and surrounded by commercial strips and city neighborhoods of brownstones or single-family homes.

Albany police tweeted out several pictures of the bear in the tree, including one in which the animal looked like it was taking a nap.

Police said the bear would be medically evaluated before being released into a forested area of the Catskills, south of the city.

Police closed off the street for a few hours as a state Department of Environmental Conservation crew worked to get the bear safely out of the tree.