St. Paul police shoot bear in Frogtown

St Paul police shot a black bear that wandered into the Frogtown neighborhood west of downtown early Sunday.

Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Paulos said police starting getting calls from residents in the area at about 12:30 a.m. Responding officers found the bear walking near the 500 block of Charles Avenue. "It was almost like it was trying to get away from them," he said of the bear. "So they set up a perimeter and the bear finally climbed a tree in the 500 block of LaFond Avenue. And that's where they set up a perimeter again to contain the bear for public safety."

Paulos says the bear wasn't violent, but the Department of Natural Resources advised officers to shoot it after it climbed down from the tree -- which they did.

"You can never know the temperament of a bear. Because the bear was in such a populated area. And that's really what it boils down to," he said. "We took advisement from the Department of Natural Resources, and we acted upon their advice."

Paulos said the bear weighed about 200 pounds. Paulos didn't know the gender or age of the bear.

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