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Thomas Mascia shot himself at Hempstead Lake State Park then
stashed the gun, drove to the highway and called for help,
prosecutors said Monday. He also allegedly planted shell casings
at the scene.
Mascia was charged with official misconduct, tampering with
evidence and falsifying documents.
His parents, Dorothy and Thomas, were also each charged with
criminal possession of a firearm as the .22- caliber gun was
discovered in their West Hempstead bedroom, according to
prosecutors.
The three pleaded not guilty and were released until their next
court date on Feb. 5.
Prosecutors said in court filings Monday that Mascia shot
himself in an apparent bid to gain attention and sympathy.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly after the hearing
called the former officer's actions an “unconscionable”
deception.
“He knew the fear that it would create, and he did it anyway,”
she said.
Jeffrey Lichtman, a lawyer for the family, said the 27-year-old
Mascia, who resigned Friday, has been suffering from “untreated
mental health issues” for years.
“There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner
sympathy that don’t include shooting oneself," he said. “And now
an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such
situations.”
The elder Mascia was dismissed from the New York Police
Department in 1993 after pleading guilty to cocaine distribution
charges.
His son, who became a trooper in 2019, was suspended without pay
in November after state police launched a criminal probe into
the shooting.
Mascia claimed he was shot in the leg on Oct. 30 by the driver
of a black sedan that had been parked on the left-hand shoulder
of the Southern State Parkway, about a mile from his home.
He claimed the driver fled in the direction of New York City in
a car with temporary New Jersey registration, prompting
authorities to launch a manhunt that lasted days.
Police said there was no video footage of the episode since the
trooper’s body camera was not activated at the time.
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