Coronavirus: California city official resigns after throwing cat during Zoom meeting

VALLEJO, Calif. — A planning commissioner in a California resigned Saturday after a video was made public showing him throw his pet cat and allegedly drink a beer during a Zoom meeting between city officials.

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Chris Platzer, a member of the Vallejo Planning Commission, told the Times-Herald in an email that he had resigned from the agency, effective immediately. The resignation came days before the Vallejo City Council was to consider a resolution to remove him from the seven-member commission, the newspaper reported.

During an April 20 meeting of the city’s Planning Commission, which was being conducted on Zoom, a cat could be heard meowing off-screen. Platzer said, “I’d like to introduce my cat,” before picking up the animal and tossing it off-screen.

Later in the meeting, Platzer was seen holding a green bottle. He put his device face-up on a table and began drinking from the bottle, the Times-Herald reported.

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“I did not conduct myself in the Zoom meeting in a manner befitting of a planning commissioner and apologize for any harm I may have inflicted,” Platzer wrote in his email to the Times-Herald. “I serve at the pleasure of the council and no longer have that trust and backing. I extend my gratitude to those who have supported me during my tenure. I have always felt that serving Vallejo in a voluntary position is honorable because Vallejo is worth serving. We are all living in uncertain times and I certainly, like many of you, am adjusting to a new normalcy.”

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Platzer has served on the commission since 2016, the newspaper reported. His term is set to expire June 20.

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Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan said Friday that Platzer’s actions were unwarranted.

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“This hurts the credibility of the city,” Sampayan told the Times-Herald. “What happens if a developer is watching the meeting (and sees that)? They would obviously have concerns about the city.”