The shooting of a New York State trooper is under investigation as authorities believe it “did not occur the way it was reported,” police brass said in a briefing on Wednesday.
Authorities are investigating Thomas Mascia, 27, and his account of a shooting just before midnight on Oct. 30 in West Hempstead on Long Island’s Southern State Parkway.
“I can’t get into the specifics of what evidence we have … or what we think may have happened that night, providing those details at this point could compromise our investigation,” New York State Police Maj. Stephen Udice told reporters on Wednesday, according to WABC. “I can tell you that, based on our investigation so far, we have reason to believe that the incident did not occur the way it was reported.”
Mascia was suspended without pay on Monday. State police searched his West Hempstead home and removed his department-issued firearms as well as personal weapons and his police shield, Newsday reported. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the case.
“If it is determined that criminal charges are appropriate, then they will be filed,” Udice said, according to Newsday.
Mascia reported he was shot in the right leg around 11:45 p.m. on Oct. 30 near Exit 17 of the Southern State Parkway. He said he slowed down to stop an apparent stranded motorist, but the driver responded with gunshots and sped off.
“Trooper Mascia’s good intentions were met with unexpected gunshots directed at him from a coward who, without any provocation or good shot or good cause, began to shoot at him,” Udice said on Oct. 31.
Mascia was released from the hospital on Nov. 1, and was greeted by hundreds of Long Island law enforcement personnel. He had described the shooter’s vehicle as a Dodge Charger with a temporary New Jersey license plate.
But by Monday, police had stopped searching for the vehicle or any other suspect in the shooting. Instead, they turned their investigation toward Mascia and are questioning if he could have shot himself.
Mascia’s body-worn camera wasn’t turned on until after the reported shooting, cops said.
“I think [the incident] overshadows the outstanding and great work that the members of the state police and the state troopers do each and every day in an attempt to keep the public safe,” Udice said Wednesday, according to Newsday. “There’s a lot of emotion right now.”
In 1993, Mascia’s father, an NYPD officer, was fired by the force after pleading guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The elder Mascia, also named Thomas, was one of five NYPD cops living on Long Island charged in the same case.
“I’m not going to discuss his family,” Udice said.