A pastor at a catholic church in Springfield, Illinois is currently on a leave of absence after he was forced to call 911 to request help getting out of handcuffs. The bizarre incident happened to Father Tom Donovan of St. Aloysius church last November. On a copy of the 911 call released by the Sangamon County Emergency Telephone System Department, the priest's muffled voice can be heard asking for help. When police arrived they discovered some sort of gag covering the priest's mouth.

'I'm going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency,' Father Tom Donovan can be heard telling an incredulous sounding dispatcher 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.


It's not clear exactly how he ended up in handcuffs or why he feared a medical emergency. Father Donovan was alone in the front room of the rectory.

A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Springfield, Kathie Sass, told the Illinois Times that Donovan's request for a leave of absence was accepted by Bishop Thomas Paprocki not long after the incident.

However she refused to disclose if Donovan was staying at a church-affiliated location or to offer up an explanation for how Father Donovan came to find himself incapacitated in such an unusual manner.