New York State Police have suspended the trooper and are investigating his account of the stabbing and wounding

New York. New York State Police on Monday suspended a trooper without pay after an investigation into what he says shot and wounded while trying to help a motorist on the Long Island Expressway last week — an incident that prompted a manhunt for the alleged shooter.

The decision came after police executed a search warrant at the West Hempstead residence of Trooper Thomas Maschia earlier Monday as they investigated the circumstances of the Oct. 30 shooting he reported.

State police also canceled an alert for a black Dodge Charger with a temporary New Jersey license plate that a trooper said was involved in the shooting.

Department spokesman Beau Duffy declined to comment on the suspension.

“We cannot go into details while the investigation is ongoing,” he wrote in an email.

Nassau County District Attorney Ann Donnelly said her office is assisting state police in investigating “certain inconsistencies” in reports of the shooting. A spokesman for her office declined to comment, saying the investigation was ongoing.

On Monday, police blocked off West Hampstead Road, where Masiya lives, and officers were seen entering his home.

Neighbors too told Newsday that Sunday, investigators began knocking on doors to question residents and obtain doorbell camera footage.

Mashia, who was released from the hospital Friday, did not return phone messages seeking comment Monday, and an attorney representing him also did not respond to an email.

The New York State Police Benevolent Association union, which represents state employees, said it was not involved in the investigation but was monitoring the situation.

New York State Police Superintendent Stephen James said at a news conference last week that the shooting happened at South State Park in West Hempstead, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Manhattan in suburban Nassau County.

Mascia was patrolling the boulevard just before midnight when he noticed a black sedan parked on the left shoulder and went to offer assistance, James said.

But when he got out of his patrol car, he said, he was met with gunfire and shot in the leg before the driver fled west toward New York.

The 27-year-old, who became a trooper in 2019, used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until other officers arrived, James said.

The police said at the time that there was no video recording of the incident, and the soldier’s body camera had not been activated.

The camera turns on automatically when the lights on the roof of the patrol car are fully turned on; Maska reported that he only turned on the back lights of the bar.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Cop Shot, a New York-based group, have offered a total of $15,000 in rewards for information about the shooting.