Rocky the Falling Squirrel Rescued by Officer

When it comes to critters, Officer Chuck Nicoud has seen it all at the LAPD’s Elysian Park academy: abandoned cats, pine cone-tossing squirrels and pushy chickens.

Once, two guinea hens led an academy graduation march to an explosion of laughs. Recruits eventually pitched in to buy the pair a personalized doghouse.

“It was hilarious,” Nicoud said.

But he never had to be nursemaid to any of them until last month, when the 16-year veteran training officer locked eyes with an injured and abandoned baby squirrel.

“This little guy curled up, looked up at me, and it was over,” he said.

It all started when maintenance workers found a squirrel, now known as Rocky, that had fallen from a pine tree. Senior gardener Amy Craig showed it to Nicoud and Officer Bob Barnes, then left it on a flower bed, hoping its mother would return.

The next morning, the baby squirrel was gone.

Craig figured the mother took it back. But Nicoud spotted it and picked it up after he saw a few cats lurking. And with that, he became a surrogate parent.

Then he and Barnes searched the Internet for squirrel health care Web sites. The two mixed a homemade batch of mostly salt, sugar and water and fed Rocky.

By the end of the day, the squirrel, which looked like it had “conked its head,” began to get spry.

When Sgt. Jerry Hallanger walked in, he couldn’t believe his eyes. “It looked like the Wildlife Waystation instead of the LAPD academy,” he said.

Nicoud, not ordinarily thought of as the pampering sort, got his share of ribbing. “My personality doesn’t fit the deed,” he said.

After being protected and served, Rocky went to the home of LAPD gardener Ed Jaramillo and his wife, who cared for the squirrel while a hairline fracture on its leg healed.

Eventually, Rocky went to Newhall Animal Rescue.

He’s allowed to come and go as he pleases, but Rocky has made himself scarce recently.

Even though at least one police recruit has required stitches after a squirrel tossed a pine cone at his head, Nicoud said he was glad he helped Rocky.

“I didn’t want him to be chomped on by a cat,” he said.