The Westchester DA’s office dropped its investigation into a Harrison police officer’s controversial killing of a black bear that had been wandering through the town last month, but recently released body cam video of the incident is sparking new questions.
“The Westchester DA’s Office has looked into the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and has determined that no further action by our office is warranted under the laws of New York State,” a spokesperson told The Record.
The DA did not provide any further information about the fatal June 8 shooting in Harrison.
But Harrison police body camera footage of the lead-up to the shooting shows a more detailed account of the incident. Initially, cops are heard discussing what to do about the lost black bear, which had been seen roaming around the backyards of neighborhoods in West Harrison.
“[The bear] is not being aggressive,” one police officer said in the video obtained by News12. “I don’t feel it’s necessary to shoot him and kill him.”
Harrison police, in a since-deleted social media statement, posted that the state Department of Environmental Conservation police did not provide “any type of assistance whatsoever.”
But the statement did confirm that a DEC representative was present at the scene.
In the body camera footage, the DEC representative could be heard saying, “When it gets later in the day,” the bear “will find its way back to the woods.”
“I mean, this is not the first or the last instance of this,” the representative added.
The body cam video then cuts out before the police officer shoots the bear while it’s climbing a tree.
It is unclear if the district attorney’s investigation included a review of police body camera footage of the incident.
Jim Horton, a wildlife expert, also told News 12 that Harrison police contacted him to help deal with the bear. Horton told them he could be there in 10 minutes, but the police never called him back, according to the outlet.
Harrison PD did not respond to The Record’s request for comment.
With Westchester’s proximity to nature, bear sightings, although unusual, are not unheard of.
In 2019, a black bear was spotted roaming around Rye Brook, including in the vicinity of the Rye Ridge Shopping Center.
And similarly, when Rye was dealing with a rise in coyote sightings, a bear sighting also garnered attention.
Rye police were able to scare the bear away by hitting with a Taser shotgun — a “less-than-lethal option” — the department purchased through a grant, according to police Lt. Michael Anfuso.
At the time of the Harrison killing, police said the decision to kill the bear was made “in the interest of public safety.”
The state DEC refuted those claims, however, arguing that the bear “didn’t pose any immediate threats to the public” and had “access to reasonable escape routes.”
The killing sparked an outpouring of angry reactions across social media.
“Archaic cowards,” someone called Harrison PD on Facebook. “That poor bear didn’t have to die,” another comment read.
Photo courtesy Rye police
The news reached as far as the West Coast.
“Now the Westchester DA is investigating. And they should,” said the Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation, which rescues dogs from China and transports them to California. “Because this happens all the time. Dogs. Bears. Deer.
“Killed out of convenience. Almost no one is ever held accountable.”
As backlash intensified, new details surfaced, casting growing doubt on the police response. A local website, Talk of the Sound, posted a photo of a Harrison police officer posing with a gun, smiling as he stood next to the dead bear covered in blood.
Sources close to the matter confirmed the authenticity of the photo.
