Cops collar coyote after Manhattan church chase

NEW YORK, April 15 (UPI) -- An adult coyote seen wandering in New York was tranquilized by police on the grounds of a Manhattan church and taken into custody.

A resident captured video of police from the Emergency Services Unit chasing the coyote Tuesday around the grounds of the Holy Apostles Church in Chelsea before the canine was brought to the ground by a tranquilizer dart.

"He didn't want to get captured," ESU Detective Robert Mirfield told the New York Daily News. "We didn't want to spook it too much, have him run away and get lost. We tried our best to keep him contained."

"It takes a little while for the tranquilizer to take its effect," Mirfield said. "When we thought it was safe enough, we used an animal noose to capture the animal and then we placed it in an animal containment box."

Animal Care & Control officials said the coyote is being kept at a facility in East Harlem while officials work with the Parks Department to create a release plan.

Richard Pichardo, who captured video of the chase at the church, said he was surprised by the size of the coyote.

"When I first got here, I was curious just like everybody else, and I asked what was it," he told WABC-TV. "When they told me a coyote, I figured it was just a small one."

"When I caught a good video and I seen the size of him, was large, 60 maybe 70 pounds," Pichardo said. "And if he was standing up, he would be taller than me."

A coyote was spotted March 29 on the roof of a bar in Long Island City, a neighborhood in New York's Queens borough. The animal fled back into the warehouse he was seen emerging from and has since eluded capture. Mirfield said the coyote captured Tuesday is not believed to be the same canine.