The New York State Police are suspending the trooper and investigating his account of his shots and wounds

New York – New York State Police suspended a trooper without pay Monday after launching an investigation into his story shot and wounded while trying to help a motorist on a Long Island highway last week — an incident that sparked a manhunt for the alleged shooter.

The decision was announced after officers served a search warrant at Trooper Thomas Mascia’s West Hempstead home earlier Monday as they investigated the circumstances of the shooting he reported on Oct. 30.

State police also canceled an alert for a black Dodge Charger with a temporary New Jersey registration that the trooper said was involved in the shooting.

Department spokesperson Beau Duffy declined to comment further on the suspension.

“We cannot go into details while the investigation is ongoing,” he wrote in an email.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said her office is assisting state police in investigating “certain inconsistencies” in reporting of the shooting. A spokesperson for her office declined to comment further, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Police on Monday closed the West Hempstead road where Mascia lives and officers entered his home.

Neighbors too told Newsday that investigators began knocking on doors on Sunday to ask residents questions and look for doorbell camera footage.

Mascia, who was released from the hospital on Friday, did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on Monday, and an attorney representing him also did not respond to an email.

The New York State Police Benevolent Association, a union that represents state troopers, said it was not involved in the investigation but was monitoring the situation.

New York State Police Chief Steven James said at a news conference last week that the shooting happened on the Southern State Parkway in West Hempstead, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Manhattan in the Nassau County suburb.

Mascia had been patrolling the parkway shortly before midnight when he saw a black sedan parked on the left shoulder and went to render aid, James said.

But as he exited his patrol car, he said, he was met with gunfire and shot in the leg before the driver fled west toward New York City.

The 27-year-old, who became a soldier in 2019, used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until other officers arrived, James said.

Police said at the time that there was no video footage of the incident. The trooper’s body camera was not activated.

The camera is automatically activated when the lights on the roof of a patrol car are fully turned on; Mascia reported that only the bar’s taillights were turned on.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Cop Shot, a New York City group, offered a total of $15,000 in rewards for information about the shooting.