Reader TTS

They couldn’t bear it. A jumpy suburban Westchester County cop shot a black bear roaming around a residential neighborhood — drawing outrage from horrified locals and wildlife experts who

said the lost animal didn’t need to die. Harrison Police Department officials tried to tamp down the furor with a Facebook post contending they couldn’t get tranquilizers or trapping help,

so they made the difficult decision to “humanely euthanize the bear in the interest of public safety.” But scores of neighbors responded, bearing a grudge against the cops for the dreadful

spectacle they — and their kids — witnessed. “You shot it out of a tree, and it fell pretty far to the ground!” one neighbor posted. “It was moaning and groaning as it was dying by the base

of the tree! We live right there. We heard it. My kids heard it.” EXPLORE MORE “There was nothing humane about this,” another wrote. The cops’ contention that they had no choice but to kill

the bear also came under fire. State Department of Environmental Conservation officers told Harrison cops not to poke the bear, according to a statement from the agency. They “determined

that the bear should be left alone to leave the area on its own as it posed no immediate threat to residents and had access to reasonable escape routes to nearby wooded areas,” the statement

reads. “(DEC cops) advised the local police department to take action if they believed the bear became a threat to public safety.” Harrison cops claimed that DEC police “were unable to

provide any type of assistance whatsoever.” The TV news outlet also reported that local wildlife expert Jim Horton offered to help police tranquilize the bear — and served up a recording to

prove it. “You know, it’s just frustrating that I could have helped the bear and, you know, unfortunately, now it’s deceased,” Horton told News12.