nothin Cops Helped Keep Shooter Alive | New Haven Independent

Cops Helped Keep Shooter Alive

Thomas Breen Photo

State police investigating the shooting scene.

Officers grabbed a fleeing man who had allegedly just shot at a cop. Then they kept him talking and applied first aid until medics could arrive on the scene.

That twist emerged Thursday in the still-unfolding story about what happened in Kimberly Square Tuesday evening.

The incident fell under the category of an officer-involved shooting.” That means a cop fired at a suspect.

State police — who are investigating the incident, protocol for these cases — reported that detectives had spotted a 22-year-old wanted man on Lamberton Street at 5:44 p.m. They caught him; he broke free and ran. In a driveway, an exchange” of gunfire took place, with an officer’s bullet hitting the man in the pelvis. (Update) He kept fleeing, but officers eventually caught him and arrested him, according to the state police. He was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm; the warrant was for a reckless endangerment charge. He had no prior felony convictions. As of Friday, he remained in the hospital after receiving two surgeries. He is currently in stable condition. (Click here to read about what witnesses saw.)

Many details remain unknown, and will remain unknown until the state investigation concludes.

However, the detail about the life-saving role of the cops emerged publicly Thursday at the weekly police CompStat” date-sharing meeting, where officers were recognized for how they attended to the suspect at the scene.

Cops from throughout the city converged on the Hill Tuesday evening once an officer needs assistance” call went out on the police radio. They stationed themselves throughout Kimberly Square as the hunt was on for the suspect.

Several officers found him and handcuffed him. They noticed him bleeding from the stomach.

I’ve been shot,” he told them.

On Greenwich Avenue.

Training and instinct kicked in. The officers kept the man talking and applied first aid to slow the bleeding. They kept him stable until an ambulance crew arrived. The arrestee was then taken for treatment to the hospital, where he was later listed in critical but stable” condition.

I really was moved to know that the value that we try to instill in officers for all, including those who try to hurt us, is being taken to heart,” Police Chief Anthony Campbell said after the CompStat meeting. These officers went above and beyond what is required by them. I think this is a testimony to their humanity and the morality which all New Haven police officers have in abundance.”

While officers were commended for assisting the suspect, New Haven cops have been focused more on the work of one officer in particular, Detective Francisco Sanchez of the Criminal Intelligence Unit.

Sanchez had an eventful day Tuesday: Earlier that afternoon he was part of an undercover team looking for a different suspect, and he found that suspect downtown. A multi-town chase ensued (including a stretch on the Tweed New Haven Airport tarmac), ending in the man’s arrest.

Then, in Kimberly Square, Sanchez, a seven-year veteran, was among the cops who caught up with the 22-year-old suspect. Sanchez was the one who fired the shot at the suspect and hit him in the stomach.

As is customary in these cases, he and the other officers present have been put on administrative duty in the wake of the traumatic incident.

The true hero here,” remarked one of the many cops involved in Tuesday’s events, is Detective Sanchez.”

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