A Festus Police officer who was trying to remove a raccoon from a residential care facility on May 3 was scratched by the animal, so the officer has to get shots in case the raccoon had rabies, Police Chief Tim Lewis reports.
He would not identify the officer but said he appears to be fine.
“At 7:45 p.m., we got a call from Colonial House (129 Gray St.) that a raccoon got into the facility,” Lewis said. “An officer responding found the animal sitting on a decorative bullhorn. The officer was going to take it out an open window. He grabbed it by the nape of the neck and it turned around and scratched him. He threw it out the window. It scratched him real good.”
Lewis said the officer has begun treatment to protect him from possible rabies.
“It (the incident) started a protocol of shots because the animal got away and we don’t know if it has rabies,” he said. “He (the officer) began a series of shots. He’s doing fine. He didn’t miss any work.”