Raccoons force US Park Police out of their headquarters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Park Police have been forced out of their headquarters in the nation's capital because of an unwanted house guest.

The building they had been working out on Ohio Drive in Southwest D.C. is located nearby the Potomac River and the 14th Street Bridge, but it had to be closed down after a family of raccoons moved in.

The raccoons caused such a disruption that they had to move more than 20 employees to another part of the complex where the National Park Service's National Capital Regional Office is located.

"They were using our attic space as a bathroom and some of that made its way through the ceiling tiles and that affected our workday," said U.S. Park Police Sgt. Anna Rose. "It happened once and we thought maybe it was condensation from an air compressor - we didn't know. Then progressively it got worse and we hired a trapper to come in and we found a family of five living in the building."

The raccoons consisted of two parents and three babies. They were taken by the trapping company to the Eastern Shore of Maryland where they were set free.

Sgt. Rose said they believe the raccoons came in through a hole in the foundation and they somehow made their way up to the attic of the building.

This happened back in June and Park Police have moved out since then.

Prior to the raccoon problem, Park Police said they were planning to move their headquarters anyway as the whole building was going to be renovated.

Park Police said if you need a police report from them, you can no longer come to this location and you are advised to contact them first and they will direct you where to go.