Posted on 04/21/2025 5:27:57 AM PDT by Puppage
CONNECTICUT — A man from Bethlehem said he was caught in a tough situation that involved self defense and breaking the law.
Todd Topicz exclusively told Channel 3 that was woken up in August by his pregnant wife after a bear came within feet of his two children.
“He walked right into the garage with people in there. He didn’t care. So, who knows what would’ve happened next time,” Topicz said.
He said that the bear entered the home through the garage, where the two kids were at the time.
The animal grabbed a few bags before being chased up a tree by his dog. When he 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.
“DEEP contacted me and said hey since you shot the bear and killed it, we have to arrest you again and charge you again with illegal taking of a bear,” he said.
He said the arrest confused him.
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.
Senator Eric Bethel, who represents Bethlehem, said that he supports a resident’s rights to defend themselves and that similar situations are a public safety issue.
DEEP said that it would not comment on the case.
Topicz said he is doing an accelerated rehabilitation program for first time offenders. As long as he completes it, no charges will be filed.
I feel sorry for this guy, but he does live in a New England deep blue state. He’s lucky he’s not going to the Big House for manslaughter.
An illegal alien could get caught shooting and eating the bear and all would be forgiven.
He has 5o be rehabi,itated in order to purge him from his dangerous beleif that he is allowed to defend himself! /s
He made a mistake.
He should have led the bear over to the neighbors house with a a 5lb beef roast, and left the roast on his doorstep.
Easy to do, all you need is the meat and a 20 foot, 3/8 inch rope.
I’m with the bear on this. But I’m NOT with the state arresting the guy. Killing the bear can be rationalized, but so can be running it off, treeing it and calling it a day. (Yes, I’ve hunted quite alot, and have a fair amount of experience with bears, mostly as nuisances.)
“A neighbor reported the dead bear to police”
ie KAREN next door dropped a dime on him.
IMHO, this bear needed to be shot because it had lost its fear of humans. This is because PEOPLE FEED BEARS. Just like my mother in law feeds deer in her back yard. The people that do this always mean well. They feel sorry for the poor animals. Yet, they do not know they are creating a problem.
This happens throughout all suburban areas in our country.
People have bird feeders that they should have taken down on April 1st or earlier. The bear wake up from hibirnation and go to every back yard hitting one feeder after another.
They LEARN this is a much easier source for food instead of the natural sources out in the woods. Bears will eat ANYTHING.
Keep in mind that even though CT abuts NY and parts are only 25 miles from NYC that a MOUNTAIN LION was killed on the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich, CT about ten years ago.
Unlike the suburban areas in many other parts of the country, New England suburbs all have bigger lots. One to two acres is not uncommon. So, the wildlife has plenty of space to come into our backyards, yet that does not give you enough legal space to hunt with a firearm(300’ from a house).
FYI, I am a little pissed off right now because the neighbor who bought the 55 acre property next to me just POSTED their property recently. This is land that I have been hunting on for the 14 years I have lived next door.
Probably because the big bear was already out of his house and up a tree when he shot it.
“why is this not an open and shut case”
Well, he may be lying. Fired warning shots and accidentally killed a treed bear? Not a very good shot Or maybe he is and is lying. Does not sound too aggressive if their dog chased it up a tree. But I was not there, so I’m not saying he was wrong, just playing devils advocate.
Bear is dead. Family is protected. Cost is immaterial. In 10 years, family still ok.
Eastern black bears are not dangerous, just a nuisance. The man should have denied entry to his garage in the first place. Shooting it in a tree was unnecessary and stupid.
The other thing that has happened here in southern NH is that bear are constantly breaking into peoples chicken coops.
It goes something like this. People move out to the country.
They go to Tractor Supply and buy some chicks and a coop because they will get all the fresh eggs.
The coop eventually gets broken into by the racoon, then Mr Fox, W E Coyote, Mr Bobcat, and finally Mr Bear. Mr/Mrs Bear can become VERY AGGRESSIVE. This is why we DO NOT FEED THE BEARS, Yogi. Mr Bear totally destroys the coop and kills ALL of the remaining chickens. People decide to sell the coop on Facebook marketplace.
I have witnessed this dozens of times in the last thirty years. However, it has really increased since Covid when so many NY/NJ people moved to NH. These people seem to have no common sense. They have never lived in the country before. They also VOTE Democrat.
That is not entirely true. A friend had a bear break into his chicken coop and kill several chickens. He went out into his yard to scare it away. The bear charged him. He fired a shot gun blast above it and it ran away. Then he went inside and changed his underware.
Black bears can be dangerous. Especially females with cubs.
I think they're talking about a fellow from Bethlehem, CT, not PA. In PA that bear would be in the garage again right now, hanging from hooks and over a drain, while the shooter took selfies and the neighbors quaffed beers. Nothing like a good bear story to fire up a block party.
He “accidentally” shot the bear. Right...
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Not saying that I agree with him being charged, but I do agree with you that this part of his story is the fishy part. Playing dumb that your warning shots might have also been aimed toward the bear as if you didn’t think you could hit him harms your credibility about the rest of his story.
I didn’t click through to the OP link, but you are spot-on.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4312239/posts
https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4312239/posts?page=33#33
It’s not called the F you state for nothing!
Very confusing article. It appears he accidentally shot the bear while it was up the tree. No self defense claim can be made. The man may have been fearful and in an agitated state but that is no excuse for being stupid.
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