50 People To Know: Yonkers Police Officer William Pataky Combats Animal Cruelty
YONKERS, N.Y. (WCBS 880) -- Veteran Yonkers Police Officer William Pataky spent his career fighting crime in the Westchester County community.
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Last month, he was honored for his service protecting victims of the four-legged variety.
Pataky was cited by the local Humane Society for his work tracking down cases of animal cruelty and spreading the word about protecting against such abuse in Yonkers.
"When you see an abused animal or a neglected animal, they have no voice and they need someone to go back for them," he told WCBS 880's Sean Adams. "And that's us."
He said he always wanted to be a Yonkers police officer.
"You get angry, because animals should never be treated this way," he said.
Ernest Lungaro, the director of humane law enforcement for the SPCA of Westchester County, said working with the Yonkers police department and Pataky has "been a great partnership."
"We're getting a lot of good work done and we're having an impact on fighting animal cruelty," he added.
Pataky was thrilled to receive the honor, but said what made the biggest difference in his mission to fight animal cruelty came after handling a case in December 2016. He adopted a 5-month-old kitten that he happened upon in an abandoned apartment.
He told LoHud.com last year that he felt adopting the animal, who was in rough shape, "was the right thing to do."
