With So Much Drama From the SPD, It's Kinda Hard Bein' S-Dubya-O-O-P

Swoop, the mascot of Eastern Washington University, was stomped outside a bar Sunday night and briefly detained by none other than police chief Gil Kerlikowske. Apparently. Reports the Seattle P-I:

Lt. Kenneth Hicks, shift commander at the precinct that includes Pioneer Square, was leading Kerlikowske on a closing-time tour of the club district when the senior officers witnessed a man-on-eagle fracas, according to police documents.

The officers watched as a 30-year-old Seattle man shoved the eagle to the curb and then stomped on the costumed man's back as the eagle's costumed confederate -- a man dressed as a beaver -- looked on.

While a police spokesman couldn't confirm the identity of those involved, police records list the eagle's hometown as Cheney -- home to the Eastern Washington University Eagles.

A "mascot challenge" was part of Pioneer Square's fire festival this weekend, and apparently Swoop decided to carry the festivities well into the night. And he (?) wasn't the only mascot involved. A man dressed as a beaver, who gave his hometown as Corvallis (home of the OSU Beavers) was apparently also detained for questioning.

In news that is surely not unrelated, the Washington State University police announced today that they will begin carrying stun guns while on patrol, which may well be an attempt to protect themselves from Butch the Cougar.