Newly released body-camera footage from earlier this year has revealed a comical rescue mission undertaken by Indianapolis police officers as they attempted to capture a “big a** raccoon” that had invaded a man’s home on the southeast side of the city.

The incident, which occurred in the early morning hours of January 9, saw Officer Aaron Laird responding to a homeowner’s distress call reporting an “unusual guest” that had barged into his residence and caused chaos.

Upon entering the home, Officer Laird was greeted by the homeowner’s account of the havoc wreaked by the raccoon, explaining that it had knocked down his TV and was now darting around the living room.

In the bodycam footage released by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), Officer Laird can be seen cautiously approaching the corner where the large raccoon was cowering amid scattered items.

“He’s a big son of a b*h, easy partner,” Officer Laird can be heard saying in the video. “We got a big a** raccoon in here.”

As the officers attempted to corner the elusive critter behind a refrigerator, the raccoon darted away, climbing on doors and doing “pull-ups” on the door mouldings to evade capture.

After a few failed attempts using a catchpole, Officer Laird eventually managed to safely capture the raccoon and release it back into the wild.

In the aftermath of the chaotic encounter, officers apologized to the homeowner for the mess caused by the raccoon’s escapades within the house.

“That’s fine, that’s the easy part,” the relieved homeowner responded as he began to clean up. 

“I just wanted him out of here. When I heard that big bang, I thought someone was robbing my house.”

“He was a big boy,” Officer Laird added.

The department later joked about the incident, stating on social media: “The raccoon was not charged with a crime.”