RAVENA, N.Y. – Many are outraged after a viral video shows what appears to be a local police department driving directly at a raccoon in a grocery store parking lot.
It was right in the Shop and Save parking lot where many witnesses say they saw two police vehicles intentionally trying to run down a raccoon.
One woman even caught it on camera, now she wants answers.
Bryanna Catucci still can’t believe what she saw.
“I was in complete shock,” Catucci said.
On Monday afternoon, as she walked to her car, she noticed two police vehicles circling in the back of the parking lot.
As she got closer, she saw a raccoon. One police car lined up in front of it.
“He just went right at it,” Catucci said.
Catucci says it was intentional and she pulled out her phone to film it.
You can see both vehicles driving near the animal; one even appears to clip it.
“It was devastating to watch. It literally went on for 20-25 minutes,” said Amanda Myers.
Myers was also in the parking lot.
“They would come back around, kind of nick the raccoon, kind of make it tumble,” Myers said. “Finally, I think the one hit near the end finally did a number on the raccoon.”
It was a stunning moment for the people who saw it.
“We were horrified, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” Myers said.
The town of Coeymans Police Department has since released a statement.
In it they say they say the raccoon was rabid and had attempted to get into an establishment.
The officers located it, but deemed it unsafe to discharge a firearm. Instead they quote “dispatched the raccoon as quickly and humanely as possible.”
Myers isn’t buying it.
“It was not humane in any way shape or form,” Myers said.
Catucci says there was better ways to handle it.
“They didn’t think it was unsafe driving 45 miles, running it over, back and forth – in an open parking lot,” Catucci said.
“I don’t want any problems, I just want things to be done right,” Catucci said.
NEWS10 ABC spoke with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, they are aware of the incident and say they plan to look into it further. Tuesday they will reach out to DEC investigators.
Source: http://news10.com/2018/03/12/witnesses-police-try-to-run-over-raccoon/