A former New York state trooper was arrested after allegedly shooting himself in the leg and falsely claiming to have been attacked by an unknown gunman on a Long Island highway.
Thomas Mascia, 27, is accused of shooting himself at Hempstead Lake State Park before driving to the Southern State Parkway, where he called for help. Prosecutors say Mascia also planted shell casings at the scene to support his fabricated story.
Mascia now faces charges of official misconduct, tampering with evidence, and falsifying documents. His parents, Dorothy and Thomas Mascia, have been charged with criminal possession of a firearm after a .22-calibre gun was found in their West Hempstead home.
All three individuals have pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released until their next court date on February 5. Prosecutors allege that Mascia’s actions were an attempt to garner attention and sympathy. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly called the former officer’s actions an “unconscionable” deception, adding, “He knew the fear that it would create, and he did it anyway.”
Jeffrey Lichtman, the family’s attorney, stated that Mascia had been battling untreated mental health issues for several years. “There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner sympathy that don’t include shooting oneself,” Lichtman said. “And now an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such situations.”
Mascia’s history has also come under scrutiny. His father, Thomas Mascia, was dismissed from the New York Police Department in 1993 after pleading guilty to drug distribution charges. Mascia, who became a state trooper in 2019, was suspended without pay in November as a criminal investigation into the shooting began.
Mascia initially claimed he had been shot on October 30 by the driver of a black sedan while patrolling the Southern State Parkway, near his home. He said the driver fled in a car with temporary New Jersey plates, which led to a days-long manhunt. However, investigators later confirmed there was no video footage of the incident, as Mascia’s body camera had not been activated at the time.
