Behind his neighbor's home on Parkwood Drive, a deer had gotten caught by its antlers in netting surrounding a basketball court. Watch video
SCOTCH PLAINS -- They're calling him the deer whisperer.
Scotch Plains resident Tim Majek has helped more than a few souls during his 21 years as a Woodbridge police officer - but this time, it was a deer in need of his heroics.
The deer broke an antler when it attempted to run with the netting still attached.Behind his neighbor's home on Parkwood Drive, a deer had gotten caught by its antlers in netting surrounding a basketball court.
Majek said his neighbor isn't the deer wrangling type and called him for a hand.
"My neighbor is from Queens," Majek says with a laugh. "He might as well have had a rhinoceros stuck."
Majek first cut the deer from the net fencing when it began to take off, but then it would get the netting caught again on a tree and slam to the ground, he says. It even broke an antler in the process.
And so Majek went a step further and chased the deer through the woods until he could catch it and hold it by the antlers as he deftly cut away the netting.
"I know I sound out of breath in the video," he says. "It's not because I'm out of shape - it's because this happened after 10 minutes of a chase."
In the video, Majek sweet talks the deer to convince it to hold still, but still has to hang on as it makes a few attempts at escaping.
His neighbor, behind the video camera, was standing a few feet away because the men were unsure what the not-too-happy animal might do next.
"I think the coolest part was the end, when he just pauses for a second looking at us after I got him free," Majek says. "I don't know if he was contemplating killing me or thanking me."
Majek says he comes from a long line of animal lovers. Here, his dad feeding deer. Majek said he's made a few animal rescues during his time as an officer, too - including a group of kittens and a duck and ducklings he saved from a storm sewer.
"I like animals, my family likes animals," he says. "I have a big great Dane at home about the same size as the deer." He estimates the deer was about 120 pounds.
Majek posted the deer rescue video on Facebook and the accolades poured in.
"It's nice to see how much other people really love animals, too, and responded to it," he said.
Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.