Boston Police Officer Shot In Leg In Dorchester
BOSTON (CBS) - A Boston Police officer is expected to recover after he was shot by a convicted drug dealer Friday morning, police commissioner Bill Evans said.
Officers saw 27-year-old Grant Headley driving in Dorchester around 10:20 a.m. and knew his drivers license was suspended, so they boxed him in to stop him on Mount Bowdoin Terrace.
Evans said Headley got out of his car and started shooting "unprovoked" at one police officer, hitting him in the leg.
"The officer quickly exchanged gunfire," Evans said, adding that Headley then ran away.
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Other officers at the scene ran after Headley, tackled him and took his automatic Glock .40 mm handgun, according to the commissioner, who said Headley was not hurt.
The wounded officer, who has not been publicly identified yet, tried to apply his own tourniquet to his wound. He was helped by another officer and rushed to Boston Medical Center, about 20 minutes away.
Related: Headley Has Lengthy Criminal Record
"It could have saved his life," Evans said, "and at least saved his leg."
The officer's wife met him at the hospital, where he is currently in intensive care with a serious, but non-life-threatening leg wound. Boston Police said he was in fair condition late Friday night.
He is a highly decorated, nine-year veteran of the department, assigned to the Mattapan Drug Control Unit. He was about to be honored with a commendation for a recent gun arrest, Evans said.
A woman who lives in the neighborhood told WBZ-TV she heard 5-to-6 gunshots. When she looked outside, she didn't see the injured officer, but there was quite a bit of police activity.
Investigators remained at the scene several hours after the shooting, collecting evidence in and around Headley's car.
Evans said Headley, a Dorchester resident, is a drug dealer out on probation who was well-known to police. He was released in April 2015 after serving five years in state prison on firearm and drug dealing convictions.
"He was out selling drugs and that's why he was pulled over," Evans told reporters outside the hospital.
The commissioner praised the restraint of his officers in capturing Headley without deadly force.
"This individual has a dangerous past," Evans said. "I'm sure he's desperate and he doesn't want to go back to jail."
Watch: Commissioner Evans Update On Shooting
"My prayers go out to the family of this young officer and I commend him for his work," said Mayor Marty Walsh after he and the commissioner visited the officer in the hospital.
Watch: Mayor Walsh On Shooting
Headley is expected to be arraigned Monday.
The suspect's father, who saw his son not long before the shooting, says he can't explain any of this.
"He came from a good family," said Grantley Headley. "We don't condone that kind of behavior. I don't know what he does when he's not here. When he's here, he's pretty respectful kid."
"The police around here do a very a good job protecting us," Headley says. "I have a lot of respect for the Boston Police."
Pat Rose, President of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, said the public should be outraged.
"The bottom line is though we are the targets, we are the targets and that's wrong," Rose said. "It's become far too common for people to take shots at police officers across this country and it can't be tolerated the public has to step up."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports