Albany’s police chief said Thursday that a gunman shot and killed a police officer after wounding him in the leg after a brief car chase, but the officer did not return fire as initially suggested. announced.
Police Chief Eric Hawkins said at a news conference that an autopsy determined that Amiel Laieni, 28, “died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.”
Police released a portion of Officer Jonathan Dunphier’s body-worn camera recording showing him ending a pursuit of a speeding car through a neighborhood. Dampier then spots the same car. As he approached the car, Laieni came out from behind the car, raised his arm and pointed at the officer. Two loud bangs are heard. “Shots fired,” the officer shouted as he fled.
Albany, New York, police officer shot in ‘ambush’ during attempted traffic stop.Dead suspect: official
The video only shows the initial moments when the officer was injured and does not show the subsequent shooting. Hawkins said more than 10 shell casings were recovered at the scene.
“It’s important to put something out there,” he said, but “it just wasn’t right” to make it all public.
The gunman who injured an Albany police officer was found to have died by suicide, with no response from officers as initially believed. (Fox News)
After surgery on the upper leg wound at Albany Medical Center, Dunphier’s prognosis is good, the director said.
Officials had previously suggested that Mr. Laieni was killed by Mr. Dunphier. “Officers opened fire and the suspect was shot at some point during the confrontation,” Hawkins said Wednesday.
Hawkins said Thursday that he was careful with his language because it wasn’t immediately clear what happened. “What I said about that was intentional,” he said.
Officials said Laieni had abrasions from another gunshot wound.
Hawkins said police found two illegally possessed 9mm handguns at the scene of the shooting, and a 9mm ghost gun was discovered during a search warrant executed at Laieni’s home in Albany.
Officials said police will investigate the shooting internally, and the state attorney general and the Albany Regional Police Review Board will investigate. Hawkins said Wednesday that Dunphier was clearly ambushed and did exactly what he was supposed to do.
Dunphier has been with the department since 2021 and is the first Albany police officer to be shot in the line of duty since Lt. John Finn was fatally shot on Dec. 23, 2003.
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Mayor Cathy Sheehan said, “In 20 years, we haven’t had a police officer shot in the city of Albany.” “And this is new territory for all of us.”
