A school bus driver threw three kittens to the curb in Port Richmond Monday morning, say witnesses and police.
Police arrested Bill Mitchell today on animal cruelty charges. He was also suspended from Atlantic Express Company pending the outcome of an investigation, according to an official for the bus company, which is contracted by the School District of Philadelphia.
The driver, who has driven students around Philadelphia for four years, parked the bus at 2900 Janney St. at 8:45 a.m. Monday and threw three kittens from the back door of the bus, says Port Richmond resident Terri Gerretz, one of the witnesses to the alleged incident.
Gerretz and other witnesses took down the school bus’s license plate number and called 911. Gerretz wrapped the kittens -- which were skinny and flea-infested -- in a blanket while she waited for Animal Control to arrive.
Police said they located the driver from the license plate numbers the neighbors provided and arrested Bill Mitchell on three counts of animal cruelty.
According to police, Mitchell said that he found the kittens on his school bus and didn’t want them on there -- so he tossed them.
The kittens, two male and one female, are now safe at an area SPCA. They are not yet ready for adoption, said SPCA officials.
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Jeff Rollo, vice president of operations for Atlantic Express--one of the many companies the Philadelphia School District contracts out to, said that company officials will be interviewing Mitchell after his runs today to hear his side of the story.
Rollo said that any case of animal cruelty is "appalling."
