An Ohio traffic stop took a turn for the strange this week when a pet raccoon was found playing with an alleged “meth pipe” inside the vehicle, police say.
In body-camera footage published by Storyful on Wednesday, Springfield Township Police Department officer Austin Branham is seen conducting a search of a vehicle when he suddenly breaks into breathless laughter.
Inside the car, a live raccoon is sitting calmly by the steering wheel, fussing with an object in its hands. Branham turns to another officer standing a few feet away, incredulous.
“Come here,” he is heard saying. “The raccoon has her meth pipe.”
Branham stops a bystander from reaching into the driver’s-side window, then plucks out what appears to be a slender, glass object with a rounded end.
Seconds later, the raccoon produces a second, similar object, and puts the opening to its mouth.
“He’s trying to smoke it!” Branham cries out.
According to a social media post from the Springfield Township Police Department, a search of the vehicle uncovered a “bulk amount of Methamphetamine,” “crack cocaine” and “three used glass meth pipes.”
The driver, identified by police as a 55-year-old woman, was charged with multiple drug-related charges, as well as cited for driving under a suspended licence.
At time of this writing, she has not been convicted on any of the charges. Individuals are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Police say they also followed up with “the proper authorities” to verify whether the accused had the appropriate paperwork to own the raccoon, named “Chewy.”
“While our officers are trained to expect the unexpected, finding a raccoon holding a meth pipe is a first!” the post reads. “No raccoons were hurt or injured in this incident.”
You can watch the body-camera footage in the video player at the top of this article.
Clarification
This story has been updated to clarify that the incident took place in Springfield Township in the Akron, Ohio, area, not the city of Springfield, Ohio.
