Being a police officer can be a dangerous job. From high-speed chases to armed robbers, law enforcement officers potentially put their lives at risk each day.

Sometimes those risks comes in the least expected ways, as Oxford Officer Brandon Jenkins discovered two weeks ago when he responded to Mockingbird Lane for a rescue call.

The subject in danger was no person at all, but rather an 8-week-old kitten that crawled far up a very tall tree.

“A lady called and said her cat was stuck in a tree,” Jenkins said. “So I climbed the tree and got it down. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t go help her out. I’d want someone to help me out.”

The tree was tall enough to loom over the nearby homes. With the kitten latched on, Jenkins carried the kitten half way down the tree. On the ground, the kitten’s owner and another officer held out a big sheet.

“I tossed the kitten down onto the sheet so I could finish climbing down without falling,” he said.

Jenkins, 26, has worked at the Oxford Police Department for two years as a patrol officer. Law enforcement is in his blood he says.

“My grandfather, uncle and a cousin were cops,” he said. “It’s a family thing I guess.”

Jenkins lives in Oxford with his wife Katie. They are expecting their first child.

Jenkins admits he isn’t an expert tree climber. In fact, he can only remember climbing one tree in his lifetime. However, that didn’t stop him for helping an Oxford citizen.

“If I can help one or two people a day, then it’s a good day,” he said. “Some days I spend my time helping people. Other times, I have to arrest people. Some days we go to schools and hang out with the kids. That’s just being a police officer.”