On Monday, March 12, cops killed a rabid raccoon by running it over in a parking lot in Ravena, New York.

The Ravena-Coeymans police force started receiving calls on Monday about what appeared to be a rabid raccoon wandering around Faith Plaza. The incident has sparked a conversation online about why the raccoon was not euthanized in a more humane way, some witnesses describing the event as devastating to watch.

According to the police department, the officers were following protocol and complying with public safety regulations by attempting to run the animal over instead of shooting it. The parking lot was considered to be too unsafe of an area to discharge any type of firearm, due to how close witnesses and pedestrians were. A local report states that after about 20 minutes of attempting to handle the situation, the officers were able to kill the raccoon. Credit: Bryanna Catucci via Storyful