BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. -- An Endicott police officer was suspended after he allegedly threatened two young men.

The sheriff's office says it happened when John Vanek, 52, of Endwell, drove around his neighborhood looking for people who had run through his back yard Thursday. According to investigators, he stopped a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old walking on Pheasant Lane in Union.

Vanek allegedly confronted the men while holding a baton, threatening to bash their heads in, sick his dog on them and shoot them if they ever came on his property.

But deputies say the men had never been in Vanek's yard. They say it was actually three young teens running through during a snowball fight.

Vanek has been charged with a misdemeanor count of menacing. He is currently suspended from the Endicott Police Department and faces administrative action.