DA says they are looking into bear euthanized by Harrison police
The announcement follows several calls on social media that demanded that the department be held accountable for its actions.
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The Westchester District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday that it will be looking into an incident involving a bear that was euthanized by police in West Harrison.
The office said it will also make itself available to departments that need training on how to handle these situations.
The announcement follows several calls on social media that demanded that the department be held accountable for its actions.
News 12 asked a community member named Ronnie Torres if the department should be investigated.
"I guess so," Torres said.
Another community member named Valerie Auguste said she disagreed.
"No, they should leave the police alone. Just give them a little warning and say, 'the next time, they could do it better,'" Auguste said.
The Harrison Police Department didn't respond to our inquiries on Thursday.
It previously said that it made the decision in the interest of public safety.
It also said it wasn't able to obtain tranquilization or trapping resources, despite wildlife expert Jim Horton saying he offered to help the police with the bear before it was euthanized.
"They just said, you know, alright we'll be in contact. Next thing I heard is the bear was shot and killed," Horton said.
Officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation said the bear "posed no immediate" threats to the community and said it should have been left to leave on its own.
The department sent News 12 its Black Bear Response Manual that said if a bear is killed by police, "Such instances require an objective and careful investigation, the intent of which is not to fix blame, but to provide the public with a complete and thorough accounting of the incident. "
It's unclear if the DEC has opened an investigation into the incident.
