Upstate Police Recorded In Attempt To Run Over Rabid Raccoon

Police in the upstate New York town of Ravena has come under scrutiny after they were recorded attempting to run over a rabid raccoon in a parking lot.

It is never good to see a raccoon or any nocturnal animal in the light of day as that usually will mean the animal is sick or worse yet rabid. The police were summoned to the Stop N Shop in Ravena to get a suspected rabid raccoon under control without having anyone get bitten or hurt in any way.

Unfortunately, the first option of shooting the animal would not work as it was in an area that was not safe to discharge a firearm due to the number of pedestrians.

The officers then moved to plan "B" and used their police car to dispatch the sick animal as quickly as possible. While that was not the best way to get the situation under control from a humane standpoint, it was the only option left to the police to make sure the animal didn't bite one of the onlookers or take off and cause additional problems.

Witnesses said the act of trying to run over the raccoon took almost 20 minutes and was far from being humane the way it was handled.

You can see the video from News 10

[News 10]