Harrison police said it were unable to secure tranquilization or trapping resources in time.
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Jun 3, 2025, 9:25 AM
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Updated 4 hr ago
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Harrison police said the bear that was spotted in West Harrison on Monday was euthanized.
Police said the “difficult” choice was made because they couldn’t get any tranquilization or trapping resources.
News 12 reported that the now-deceased black bear was spotted twice in West Harrison on Monday. Authorities said it was seen near the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Madison Street and near Sherman Avenue.
During one of the incidents, police said the bear retreated into a wooded area. During the other incident, police said it made its way into a populated area and went in and out of some homeowners’ yards.
While the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation police did respond, Harrison police said the conservation officers weren’t able to help them relocate or tranquilize the bear.
Harrison police said they were forced to euthanize it for “public safety” reasons.
“I guess, if you have to, you have to. You don’t want somebody to get hurt,” resident John Abadir said.
Harrison police said they will explore having their officers cross-trained in animal trapping and plan to follow up with the DEC.
The DEC released the following statement: On June 2, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Police Officers (ECOs) responded to the town of Harrison, Westchester County, for a report of a bear in a residential area. In consultation with DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife, ECOs 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. ECOs advised the local police department to take action if they believed the bear became a threat to public safety.
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