New York State Police suspend a trooper while they investigate his story of being shot and wounded

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

Officers executed a search warrant at Trooper Thomas Mascia’s West Hempstead home earlier Monday as they investigated the circumstances surrounding the shooting he reported on Oct. 30, which sparked a manhunt for the alleged shooter.

State police have rescinded a warning for a black Dodge Charger with a temporary New Jersey registration that the trooper said was involved in the shooting.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 closed West Hempstead road where Mascia lives on Monday and officers were seen entering his home.

Neighbors 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 telephone calls seeking comment on Monday.

Jeffrey Lichtman, an attorney representing the trooper, said he is still gathering facts about the case.

“Unfortunately, there is nothing more to offer at this time,” he wrote in 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.

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 episode because 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 car’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.