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A raccoon shot and killed by an NYPD sergeant last week on a Queens beach did not have rabies.
The city Health Department sent the raccoon’s remains to be tested after the animal was shot by Sgt. Nicholas Henry of the 100th Precinct on the morning of Jan. 22.
The tests came back negative for the deadly virus that makes animals aggressive and can be transmitted to humans through a bite, a spokeswoman for the city’s Animal Care Centers said.
Police body-worn camera captured Henry unloading his firearm on the animal three times as it suspiciously moved toward the boardwalk near Beach 121st Street in Rockaway Park. He was with two other cops.
The video shows the creature stumble after the first shot. The sergeant then shoots it two more times leaving it motionless.
The NYPD released a statement after the incident became public that the animal was acting aggressively and charged at a group of people on the boardwalk.
The sergeant was put on modified assignment and transferred, NYPD paperwork shows.
The shooting is being reviewed by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, the department said.
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