Lawyer is charged after shooting injured raccoon near courthouse
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A Pennsylvania lawyer has been charged with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct for shooting an injured raccoon near the Luzerne County Courthouse last month.
Police charged Larry Kansky, 62, with the two misdemeanors even though he had called police four times May 21 to report the animal had been injured, the Citizens’ Voice reports. Kansky also said he had called an animal rescue group, to no avail.
“I shot it to put it out of its misery and to protect the public,” Kansky told the Citizens’ Voice on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate, but I felt I had no other choice.”
Kansky said the raccoon was making “crying noises” because its back legs had been crushed by a car, and he didn’t want to see it continue to suffer. He also cited concerns that a wounded animal could be dangerous to others.
Motorist Sandra Walker was a witness. She told police she saw Kansky pointing a gun at a raccoon on the sidewalk and then heard a gunshot. Walker got out of her car and told Kansky he couldn’t fire a gun in a residential area, according to the complaint filed by Wilkes-Barre police.
Kansky told the Citizens’ Voice he has a concealed carry license and he was careful to make sure he posed no threat to others when he fired the gun.
