May 19, 2008

NEW YORK CITY – After blasting a raccoon with darts last week when it ran up a tree, police defended their actions, claiming they feared the animal was rabid.

"You had a raccoon in the daytime. It may have been rabid," New York Police Department spokesman Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told the New York Post.

"It was out in the daytime. That makes it suspicious."

It is unclear why the cops thought the animal was rabid.

Emergency service officers shot the critter with tranquilizer darts last Thursday on East 88th St. Animal Control and Care eventually euthanized the raccoon because the dart damage was irreparable.

"It was the decision of the center for Animal Care and Control to put it down," Browne said. "The darts that were used were deep into the skin. It would have been difficult, if not impossible, to remove them.”

Animal Control spokesman Richard Gentles said his agency was never notified by police of the raccoon situation. Such notification is considered protocol according to the police patrol guide.

The raccoon was spotted at about 7:30 a.m. by a deli worker stunned to find it asleep on a branch on E. 88th St. at First Ave.

The sight of such wildlife in the city drew a large crowd. By 8:30, the raccoon had climbed about 12 feet up as the officers tried to wrangle it.

The first dart shot by cops didn't appear to have any effect, so they fired again, causing the raccoon to pass out and fall from its branch into a blanket held by officers, according to witnesses. It later died in the custody of animal control.

"I am a little concerned because…they were joking about harpooning it," said Linda Ekstrand, 56, who was so upset, she filed a complaint with the 19th Precinct. "I just don't think they handled it as humanely as they could have. I don't think they should have been joking."

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