Diaper-Wearing Chimpanzee Gridlocks Intersection<br /><br />STAMFORD, Conn., 9:10 a.m. EDT October 20, 2003 - Things were relatively quiet in downtown Stamford Monday, just hours after a 170-pound, diaper-wearing chimpanzee commandeered an intersection and held police at bay for a few hours. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><br />The chimp, named Travis, bolted from a sport utility vehicle driven by his owners between Atlantic Street and Washington Boulevard at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. <br />Despite the efforts of police, who arrived in more than a dozen cruisers, the chimp continued playing in the middle of the street, rolling on his back and occasionally charging officers. <br /><br />"He opens doors, he does everything," Shawn Yakuboff, an eyewitness said. "It's like a circus." <br /><br />Police were not amused They ordered residents with children back into their homes. The chimp, when not closing doors on squad cars to prevent being trapped inside, made occasional runs toward the crowd on all fours. <br /><br />"He's very strong," Sgt. Richard Phelan said of the chimp. <br /><br />By 11:20 p.m., police succeeded in getting the chimp into its owners' car. Officers pressed their hands against the doors of the SUV to hold the chimp inside. <br /><br />The owners sped away with their pet inside the SUV with about a dozen police cars following.
