Why Did the Sea Lion Cross the Road?

To find out how many Richmond police it takes to shoo a wayward pinniped back to the water.

Aaron Detrick, who took this cameraphone shot, thought a major crime had been committed when he pulled up to Marina Bay recently to find at least 10 cop cars lined up in front of the marina. It turns out they were all there to herd a young sea lion that had managed to cross a street back to the water, a process that took about 15 minutes and left everyone grinning. Such a show of force may seem a little over the top, but it’s hard to begrudge the police in the 9th most dangerous city in the U.S. – they just marked the 29th murder of the year – a little feel-good distraction.