No charges for officers accused of running down groundhog with golf cart

TROY, N.Y. -- Authorities say they won’t file criminal charges against two upstate New York police officers accused of using a golf cart to run down and kill a groundhog.

Police officials in the city of Troy said Tuesday that after an investigation it was determined there wasn’t enough information to warrant charges.

Two police officers from the neighboring city of Rensselaer were accused of killing a groundhog by chasing it with their cart during a late July police union outing at Troy’s Frear Park Golf Course.

Witnesses told police the officers drove through tee boxes and into other areas restricted to cart access before running the woodchuck down.

Rensselaer police officials say the officers remain on paid leave as the department’s internal investigation continues.

“We’re humiliated. I’m humiliated,” Rensselaer Police Chief Rick Fusco told CBS affiliate WBRG after the incident. “…You don’t expect a police officer to do something like this.”

Fusco said the allegations have put a “black cloud” over the department and said it will take time to re-earn the community’s trust.