Bay City Public Safety Officer Brandon Murphy is recovering after being shot in the thigh while responding to a home invasion call early Monday morning.
As reported by MLive.com, Murphy and another officer were responding to a call that a young male had entered a home located in the 1600 block of Third Street and awoken a female resident. According to Bay City Public Safety Director Michael J. Cecchini, the burglar left the house after being confronted by the resident.
Murphy tracked the suspect using fresh footprints in the snow, as the other officer stayed at the scene. Once the suspect was spotted, Murphy began giving demands, which the suspect ignored. Then, around 1:36 a.m., the suspect proceeded to pull a handgun and fired, hitting Murphy in his left thigh. Murphy returned fire, striking his assailant several times.
The 14 year department veteran and his assailant were transported to McLaren Bay Region hospital, where as of 8:30 p.m., Murphy is in good condition and the suspect is in critical condition.
As is standard for any officer-involved shooting, the matter is currently being investigated by Michigan State Police personnel. A separate administrative investigation will be conducted by the Bay City Public Safety Department to make sure no policies were violated in the incident, Cecchini said.
“He’s a highly decorated officer and he, in my opinion, performed admirably in a very stressful situation,” Cecchini said. “He was shot and he was able to stay composed and return fire to an individual who was trying to cause great harm to him. I believe all of his training and officer survival skills kicked in to have him respond to that threat the way he did. I’m very happy that he’s going to be OK.”
Murphy will be placed on administrative leave until all the facts are in and both investigations are complete.
