Upon recieving a tip from a friendly police offer that I should go HERE and check out the damage, myself and a local worker who fashions himself a citizen journalist headed down there.

While filming the debris of a house we were warned that we could be shot for looting and told that the police were being called. Since we had not touched anything or even approached the house in question further than a few feet onto the driveway to get a better angle.. I continued filming. The guy who rode down there with me was more interested in eating the 6 Red Cross dinners he scored us and while I filmed some of the other houses he proceded to spill 2 of the dinners on the bus seats and LET DHARMA ESCAPE. (no, he wasn't drunk or high... just stupid). He had asked Red Cross for 2 meals and they gave him 6 to run up their numbers since no one in this well to do neighborhood wanted to eat the shitty food they hand out.

The police eventually showed up threatened to arrest us if I did not allow them to search the bus for the items the lieing resident had said that he saw us take. I consented, filmed the search, the cop said on camera "no, that stuff's not here" and then got bent out of shape we he realized I had filmed him performing his duty as a public servant. Ran us for warrants and told us to leave. I told him we would have been gone long ago if the cat had not escaped and we were hoping he'd come back. He said leave or be arrested. Gave us a Trespass WARNING and said if we came back we could be arrested. I informed that I would be back the next day in the afternoon to allow my cat to come home. He said that would be ok in the afternoon but if I was there after dark I'd be arrested for trespassing.

I returned this afternoon and did NOT leave the bus at all for fear of being shot or arrested. I'd been parked there on the public street NOT under any curfew for about 3 1/2 hrs waiting... Dharma did not return. With about an hour of daylight left the same cop showed up and informed me that he had been called once again because I was seen trespassing. I had not set foot off the bus. I told him that. He said leave or be arrested. I told him I didn't want to be there, I was just waiting for my cat. He told me to get off the bus and go look for him, I had a 1/2 hour to leave or be arrested. I told him I didn't think that me wandering around in this neighborhood looking for my cat was safe. He repeated his directive to leave or be arrested.

I stepped into the middle of the street and yelled for the cat for about 20 minutes and then left.

Tommorrow morning I'm going to the police station and demand that I be able to sit in my bus on the public street and wait for my cat to return.

HERE's the video that helped save him.

Thanks to all how called to vouch for me. Dharma came back 4 hours into being allowed to stay there after dark.