Police in San Francisco shoot tiger, zoo visitors are at risk, be aware

A 252-pound Siberian tiger was shot and killed by Police in San Francisco. It took four police officers with .40 caliber service revolvers to take down the best amongst the confusion of a highly volatile situation. Officers aren’t trained as grounds keepers but when the bell sounds they come out fighting.

There are around 140 million zoo visitors each year.

Over here at the Insider, we still are pretty awed by the performance of officers Scott Biggs, Yukio Oshita, Kevin O'Leary and Daniel Kroos. The men had little training to deal with any sort of escaped-animal emergency at the zoo -- let alone one involving a tiger -- and by all accounts, there was a lot of confusion among zoo staff. Not to mention they were staring down the 252-pound beast with just their .40 caliber service weapons.

The officers will be honored by the San Francisco Police Commission for their bravery on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at a special awards ceremony. We're still waiting for more information on the event, but we're sure there will be appropriate pomp and circumstance. Capt. Paul Chignell at the Taraval Station, where all four men were stationed during the event, called them "excellent" officers who did something utterly amazing. Biggs and Oshita are still at Taraval as plainclothes officers, while O'Leary walks the beat in that district. Kroos now works out of Mission Station.

This video tape shows the San Francisco Zoo tigers.

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