STATEMENT OF JIM STAFF On Sunday, June 7, 2019, my wife Myrtle and | were trying to launch our boat at the public boat ramp under the Highway 59 bridge at Gulf Shores. | was going to back the boat into the water and my wife was out of the truck to hold the rope for the boat. Although I didn't see it, | heard my wife yell and jump back in the truck and say “look out for the raccoon.” A raccoon had run at my wife while she was out of the truck. | then saw the animal and threw a stick at it to make it go away. Instead of going away, it ran next to a garbage can several feet away and stared at me. | was concerned because this was not a natural behavior by a wild raccoon. | took a shovel out of the truck because | didn’t know what the raccoon was going to do. At that point, he then ran at me. That is when | hit the raccoon with the shovel. | was convinced that the animal was dying and would not recover. In fact, one lady, not the one who posted the Facebook video, asked me to put it out of its misery, Which | did with the shovel. It was only at this point that the video was taken, and it provides @ misleading picture of what actually happened. The video does not show the bizarre behavior of the raccoon which led me to protect both my wife and myself. 1am an animal lover and | would never intentionally injure an animal. However, when a wild raccoon, which is normally a noctumal animal, exhibits this unnatural behavior and runs at my wife and then at me, | have every right to be fearful of what may happen. 1am well aware of recent events in Baldwin County where a rabid fox and a rabid raccoon charged at and bit two women in Fairhope, Alabama. Attached are two articles from U.S. News and World Report and AL.com reporting these events.Statoment of Jim Staff June 4, 2019 Pago 2 Several years ago, a well-meaning family took two baby raccoons home to Walker County and exposed 14 people, including family members, to rabies requiring painful shots. Attached is an article from AL.com describing that event. The Alabama Department of Public Health warns against the dangers of being bitten by a raccoon. Attached is an article published by the Alabama Department of Public Health pointing out that raccoons make up a majority of all rabies cases they see each year. It was suggested in some of the comments to the video posted online that this raccoon must have been a pet and that's why he exhibited this unnatural behavior. | don't know whether this is the case or not. If it was a domesticated pet, then this is irresponsible behavior. Attached is an article from the National Wildlife Federation pointing out the dangers of trying to domesticate a wild animal like a raccoon. The bottom line is that | had every right to fear and act accordingly when a wild animal ran first at my wife and then at me. The video and the comments posted on Facebook are both misleading and irresponsible because they don't give the entire picture of what happened.