A former New York state trooper was arrested and charged after he allegedly shot himself in the leg and falsely reported that he was wounded by an unknown gunman.
Thomas Mascia, 27, shot himself last year at Hempstead Lake State Park before driving to a highway on Long Island and calling for help, prosecutors said Monday.
He is also accused of planting shell casings at the scene where he allegedly shot himself.
Mascia was charged with official misconduct, tampering with evidence and falsifying documents.
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Mascia had been a trooper since 2019 before he resigned from the force on Friday. He was suspended without pay in November after state police launched a criminal investigation into the shooting.
His parents, Dorothy and Thomas, were also each charged with criminal possession of a firearm after the .22- caliber gun used in the shooting was found in their West Hempstead bedroom, according to prosecutors.
The three pleaded not guilty and were released until their next court date, scheduled for Feb. 5.
Prosecutors said in court filings that Mascia shot himself in an apparent attempt to receive attention and sympathy.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said after the hearing that Mascia’s actions were an “unconscionable” deception.
“He knew the fear that it would create, and he did it anyway,” she said.
A lawyer for the family, Jeffrey Lichtman, said Mascia has been suffering from untreated mental health issues for years.
“There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner sympathy that don’t include shooting oneself,” he said. “And now an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such situations.”
Mascia claimed he was shot in the leg on Oct. 30 by the driver of a black sedan who had been parked on the left-hand shoulder of the Southern State Parkway.
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He purported that the driver fled in the direction of New York City in a car with a temporary New Jersey registration, leading authorities to launch a manhunt that lasted several days.
Police said there was no video footage of the incident because Mascia’s body camera was not activated at the time.
Mascia’s father was dismissed from the New York Police Department in 1993 after pleading guilty to cocaine distribution charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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