COONSKIN CAPPED

May 16, 2008 -- Cops trying to safely capture a raccoon in a tree on the Upper East Side bungled their attempt at animal control yesterday - and wound up killing the furry woodland creature.

Adding insult to injury, the officers joked about "harpooning" the raccoon before they fired two tranquilizer darts at it, witnesses said.

Sure enough, the officers wound up lancing the little masked bandit, leaving darts deep in its body.

"It was euthanized," said Animal Care and Control spokesman Richard Gentles. "The darts that were used were deep into the skin. It would have been difficult, if not impossible, to remove them."

The critter was spotted at about 7:30 a.m. by a deli worker stunned to find it asleep on a branch on East 88th Street at First Avenue.

The sight of the raccoon drew a large crowd, unused to such "wildlife" in the big city.

"At first, I though it was a cat, then someone thought it was a dog," said Bershan Shaw, 30. "It was huge - it looked like a 3-foot fur ball."

By 8:30, the raccoon had climbed about 12 feet up as the officer officers tried to wrangle it.

"It was in a tree in the middle of the street uptown; it's not exactly its habitat," said a police spokesman.

The first dart shot by cops didn't appear to have any effect, so they fired again, causing the raccoon to pass out and fall from its branch into a blanket held by officers, witnesses said.

It later died in the custody of animal control.

"I am a little concerned because . . . they were joking about harpooning it," said Linda Ekstrand, 56, who was so upset, she filed a complaint with the 19th Precinct. "I just don't think they handled it as humanely as they could have. I don't think they should have been joking."

The NYPD said in a statement, "Concerned that the raccoon may have been armed prompted the officer to dart the animal. Someone shouted 'GUN' and the officer responded correctly."

Acting upon information from neighborhood residents that the raccoon was due to be married the next day and was merely cavorting at his bachelor party, investigators from animal control searched the area until dusk but found no firearm, leading officials to believe that the animal may have perhaps been reaching for a cellphone when darted.