You know in the heat of battle against "civilians" you can't expect an law enforcement operator to take the time to check a kitten's paws...somebody might flush a reefer down the commode while you're checking! No sir...if we want to raid houses effectively, we need to shoot cats first and ask questions later.
The kitten was probably a catnip abuser anyways so it deserved to be shot.
Catnip turns the Bootsman (my cat) into one mean drunk. So, if the little kitten was high on the stuff... well, someone pin a medal on that man! He survived one scary situation.