DA Announces Update On Coeymans Police Raccoon Case

Last month Coeyman's Police used a police cruiser to euthanize a rabid raccoon, which went viral on Facebook and was followed by an investigation by the Albany District Attorney.

After looking into the matter, the office DA David Soares announced the officers will not be facing animal cruelty charges, according to a Times Union report. The DA will be partnering with the Mohawk Humane Society to provide 'training and equipment' to local police to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.

The DA's investigation has brought light to some more details about the incident. According to the Times Union article, the officers did not have the proper equipment to catch the animal and they were facing a 2 hour wait if they decided to bring in animal control. These factors, coupled with not being able to use a firearm with people in the area, led the officers to use their patrol car. While the DA did say the vehicle was not a good option for this use, the office could not justify prosecuting the case based lack of malice and the the circumstances discovered by the investigation.