A New York police officer who fatally shot a raccoon at Rockaway Beach on Thursday has been placed on modified duty pending review, the police department said Monday. The shooting followed a 911 call reporting a vicious animal at the beach. However, bodycam footage published by the Daily News shows a markedly different sequence: the raccoon walking slowly across the sand with no visible group of people present before an officer fired multiple shots.
The contradiction between the police account and the video evidence raises questions about how officers assess threats from animals and justify the use of lethal force.
Police and Video Accounts Conflict
The New York City Police Department said officers responded to the 911 call and attempted to guide the animal to safety when it behaved aggressively. “The animal suddenly charged toward a group of people in an aggressive manner” and an officer fired his weapon, according to a police department statement released Monday.
Yet the bodycam footage tells a different story. The video shows the raccoon walking slowly out onto the sand beside the beach’s boardwalk with no visible group of people in the immediate area. An officer then fires a shot. The wounded animal moves slowly along the sand and the officer fires twice more.
The contradiction raises fundamental questions about how officers assess threats from animals and when lethal force is justified.
Investigation and Personnel Action
The officer involved has not been identified. The department’s Force Investigation Division, which reviews all incidents involving officer discharge of weapons, is conducting the review.
As of Monday, it remained unclear whether officials would test the animal for rabies. The original 911 call reported a vicious animal at the beach.
Modified duty is standard practice during such investigations and doesn’t indicate any predetermined conclusion about the officer’s conduct.