The pastor of St. Aloysius church on Springfield's north end has been granted a leave of absence after he called 911 from the rectory and told a dispatcher that he needed help getting out of handcuffs.
"I'm going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency," Father Tom Donovan told a dispatcher who sounds a bit incredulous during the Nov. 28 call.
"You're stuck in a pair of handcuffs?" the dispatcher asks.
"(I was) playing with them and I need help getting out," Donovan responds.
Donovan told the dispatcher that he was alone in the rectory. It's not clear exactly how he ended up in handcuffs or why he feared a medical emergency. His voice sounds garbled or muffled on the tape, and sources say that police discovered some sort of gag on the priest when they arrived.
The link has audio of the 911 call.
Still not as bad as what Charlie Stross calls in Rule 34 the 'two-wetsuit job', the details of which I'm too lazy to look up right now. That was a pastor, wasn't it, who died of heat prostration while encased in rubber? I suppose this is more embarrassing, what with the guy surviving it.
Yes, if only there was a "Previously" link about that.
...I should really get into the habit of tapping those Previously links.