‘No Evidence Found’: White New York Cop Who Claimed He Was Shot In the Line of Duty By ‘Black or DarkSkinned Hispanic’ Arrested for Fabricating Story to Allegedly ‘Garner Sympathy’
Jan 28, 2025
From the very beginning, investigators were suspicious of New York State trooper Thomas J. Mascia’s account of being shot in the leg by a dark-skinned man driving a Dodge Charger last year.
After all, investigators found nine shell casings at the scene of the shooting but no evidence of any rounds other than the one that ended up in his kneecap. There were also no bullet holes in his patrol car or the guard rail next to the median where he claimed the car had been parked.
And there was also no evidence of a Dodge Charger matching the description and license plate number on the Southern State Parkway in the area of Exit 17 at the time of the shooting, according to “license plate readers and other technology that can help them track vehicles,” reported the Times-Union.
New York State Trooper Thomas Mascia claimed he had been shot by either a “Black man or dark-skinned Hispanic Man” and has been arrested for fabricating the story. The photo on the left shows him leaving the hospital in November to applause from fellow cops. The photo on the right shows him being arrested Monday morning. (Photos: Facebook)
Furthermore, Mascia did not have his body camera activated. Those cameras are programmed to turn on upon activation of all emergency lights on a police vehicle, but only Mascia’s rear emergency lights had been activated at the time of the shooting.
The more they investigated, the more they suspected that Mascia had accidentally shot himself, then drove himself to the location on the parkway and fired the additional rounds to concoct his false narrative by blaming a dark-skinned man.
On Monday, the 27-year-old turned himself in on various criminal charges, including tampering with physical evidence, falsifying reporting a crime, and official misconduct, according to the Long Island Herald.
Mascia’s father — a former NYPD cop who was arrested in 1992 on cocaine charges — was also arrested on charges of criminal possession of a firearm, along with his mother, Dorothy Mascia, because investigators found an illegally owned gun at the foot of their bed, the Times-Union reported. As a felon, the older Mascia is not allowed to possess firearms.
All three family members were released without bail after turning themselves in on Monday morning and pleading not guilty.
Mascia is one of several cops over the years arrested for fabricating a shooting or robbery and blaming it on a Black person, joining numerous white people over the years doing the same.
The Shooting
It was 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday, Oct. 30, when Mascia claimed to have come across a disabled black Dodge Charger parked on the median on westbound Southern State Parkway in West Hempstead, the Daily Voice reported.
Mascia said he activated his rear emergency lights and approached the vehicle, only to hear several shots fired before realizing he had been shot in the knee.
Mascia claimed he was shot by either a “Black man or dark-skinned Hispanic,” according to a complaint obtained by ABC News. He also claimed the Charger had a temporary New Jersey license plate number of 997636T.
Mascia was transported to a hospital and released two days later to cheers and applause from fellow officers as a $15,000 reward was offered to anybody providing information leading to the arrest of the shooter. The police union, as usual, came out in defense of Mascia despite not knowing the facts.
“We are sickened by the actions of this cowardly individual who thought nothing of shooting a Trooper who was simply doing his job,” the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers said in a statement the day after the shooting. “This perpetrator must be brought to swift justice. We thank the medical providers who are providing our brother with the care he needs, and we will support him as he makes what we hope is a speedy recovery.”
But three days later, Mascia was suspended without pay as his story began falling apart. The manhunt was called off, and the reward was rescinded as police and the local district attorney’s office began investigating the cop and his parents.
“My office, in partnership with the New York State Police, is actively investigating certain inconsistencies identified in the reporting of a shooting incident involving New York State Trooper Thomas Mascia last week on the Southern State Parkway,” said Nassau District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly in a statement issued to the media at the time.
Earlier today, the New York State Police and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office issued another statement stating that “Mascia shot himself in the leg before making the false report to State Police.”
“There was no evidence found to substantiate his story of stopping in the median of the Parkway to check on a disabled vehicle. A subsequent search warrant at the Mascia family home resulted in the seizure of a firearm that was illegally possessed,” the statement read.
His father was convicted on felony charges in 1992, along with notorious corrupt NYPD cop Michael Dowd, for running a cocaine ring, the New York Post reported.
The younger Mascia, who became a cop in 2019, has been suffering from untreated mental health issues for years, his attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told CBS News. CBS also reported that Mascia claimed in 2022 to be a victim of a hit-and-run driver, but the car was never located.
Mascia resigned on Friday before turning himself in on Monday. The family is due back in court on Feb. 5.
‘No Evidence Found’: White New York Cop Who Claimed He Was Shot In the Line of Duty By ‘Black or Dark-Skinned Hispanic’ Arrested for Fabricating Story to Allegedly ‘Garner Sympathy’
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