Dad arrested for shooting bear that he says came within feet of his kids

WVUE FOX8 Live ^ | April 20, 2025 | Bryant Reed and Emily Van de Riet

[Macho MAGA Man]

BETHLEHEM, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) – A father in Connecticut was arrested after he said he shot a bear in self-defense to protect his family.

The shooting happened at Todd Topicz’s home in August.

He said that the bear entered the home through the garage, where his two kids were at the time.

“He [the bear] walked right into the garage with people in there. He didn’t care. So, who knows what would’ve happened next time,” Topicz said.

[AlaskaErik]

An illegal alien with a ghost gun would never have been arrested or charged.

[No name given]

Exactly.

[No name given]

Just like every other blue run state.

[antceecee]

No wonder my grandparents left that state years ago.

[mass55th]

Bear walks into your garage. You shoot it because it was near your kids, and you get arrested. Illegal alien, member of MS-13 walks across the border, shoots you and sexually assaults your kids, and a RAT comes to his defense.

[mass55th]

I hope his EV was charged enough to take off if things got that bad.

[healy61]

I would take my chance in court. The bear aggressively charged the man 2 times. And was there a second bear at the last, or a black dog?

[GMThrust]

I see what you did right there ;)

[AndyTheBear]

Thought we had a right to have our own “keep” and also “bear” arms.

[logi_cal869]

Most - and you - likely didn’t read the article.

Guy was a dumbass. He’s lucky to just take a class without charges.

[Texaspeptoman]

Like your post and tagline. Read your bio. Hats off to you with much respect!

[Smellin Salt]

A bit greasy but tastes pretty good!

[TigersEye]

I read it.

A 2023 law outlines when a person can legally kill a bear, specifying that a person can kill a bear in self-defense if they reasonably believe that the animal is about to inflict bodily harm to a human, injure or kill a person’s pet, or enters a building occupied by persons.

Topicz said he felt that his situation met the criteria.

“We were all threatened. It entered our home. And I have no idea why DEEP ended up charging me for this,” he said.

DEEP said that it would not comment on the case.

Please explain why you're calling him a dumbass.

[McGruff]

I was going to say I could see that happening in my home state. Then I saw the article was from my home state. Bear population is out of control here.

[logi_cal869]

“He [the bear] walked right into the garage with people in there. He didn’t care. So, who knows what would’ve happened next time,” Topicz said. The bear grabbed a few bags in the garage before being chased up a tree by Topicz’s dog. Then, when Topicz realized the bear wasn’t backing down, he fired a few warning shots before the bear finally took off into the woods. He said it wasn’t until the next day that he realized that he had unintentionally shot the bear. A neighbor reported the dead bear to police, and that’s when Topicz told them what happened. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection arrested him two weeks later.

The bear was up a tree. Dude's dog did the job. Even I wouldn't have shot the bear in the tree, but DUMBASS was late with his gun - probably due to CT laws on storage - fires warning shots - INTO THE AIR, apparently - and hits the bear without knowledge.

The label stays.

[TigersEye]

I presume the tree was right there outside his home but, suit yourself.

[logi_cal869]

Had he just killed the bear WITH INTENT, we wouldn’t be having this chat, he wouldn’t be a dumbass and he wouldn’t have been arrested.

Besides, a bear up a tree is not ‘not backing down.’ He couldn’t even keep his story straight.

[TigersEye]

Had he just killed the bear WITH INTENT, we wouldn’t be having this chat, he wouldn’t be a dumbass and he wouldn’t have been arrested.

In Connecticut? I wouldn't bet a wooden nickel on that.

[logi_cal869]

Given that the guy’s a dumbass, you’re probably right:

He likely would have reported it rather than as suggested by others.

[TigersEye]

FWIW I wouldn’t have handled any of it the way he did but I don’t see that he violated the law regarding the killing of the bear. As badly as he handled it it still fits the parameters of killing wildlife in self defense IMO.

If he had been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm instead then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.