Related Articles
Died – 6/4/21
Handler – Officer Cushing
2 Braintree police officers shot in ‘ambush,’ suspect and K9 killed following domestic call
Two police officers were shot and a police dog was killed after a man “ambushed” them with gunfire in the woods behind a Braintree apartment complex, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said Friday afternoon. Two Braintree police officers were in surgery at two different hospitals as of 4:45 p.m., Morrissey said. One officer was taken to a local hospital and one was taken to Boston Medical Center. Both were shot multiple times. The officers have not been identified. “We are hoping for the best,” Morrissey said. “We think things look pretty good, but they are in surgery … Say a prayer. It shows you how dangerous this job can be.” Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros said he hoped to visit the two officers Friday evening. Officers responded to a report of a domestic incident in the area of Braintree Village apartments, on McCusker Drive, about 12:45 p.m. Friday. Officers spoke with the victim of the domestic incident, a woman, who said a man had run into the woods behind the complex with two guns. Police set up a perimeter and issued a shelter-in-place order to residents and schools nearby. Two officers and Kitt went into the woods in search of the suspect. Seventy-five yards into the woods, “They came under fire from someone in a defensive position.”om someone “lying in wait to ambush” them, Morrissey said. Both officers and the dog were shot. The officers returned fire, shooting the suspect. Other officers then came to the aid of all involved and administered medical aid to all three injured people. Both officers were taken to the hospital, and the suspect was taken to Beth pronounced dead. The suspect has been identified only as a man from Brockton who was known to police. “There were warrants out for his arrest,” Morrissey said.The Braintree police dog named Kitt, a 12-year officer of the force, was shot and killed. He was carried out of the woods wrapped in an American flag as officers saluted him. “It is tragic for us and our K9. That dog was incredible, a 12-year veteran of the force and with the same handler all those years,” Braintree Police Chief Mark Dubois said. “It shows you, in the middle of the afternoon, how dangerous this job is.” The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police have taken over the investigation. Officers from other departments including Boston, Quincy and Randolph responded to the scene. Morrissey said he is not going to make any assumptions on whether or not the shooting of the suspect was justified. Dubois said the officers were not wearing body cameras. “That’s why we have investigations,” Morrissey said. Neighbors said they heard several gunshots in rapid succession. “I thought it was fireworks at first… I probably heard at least 10 shots all at once,” an unnamed witness told WCVB, The Patriot Ledger’s media partner. “It was really scary, we didn’t know what was going on at all.” Families of Ross Elementary and East Middle School students were informed of the incident and both schools were put into lockdown for about 45 minutes. The middle school is a half mile from the scene and the elementary school is 1 mile away. The last time a Braintree police officer was shot was in 2017 while serving a warrant at the now-shuttered Motel 6. Braintree Police Officer Donald Delaney, who was 36 at the time, was released from the hospital two days after the shooting. “It seems to be way more common than it should be,” Dubois said of the shootings. “It’s serious. It’s a dangerous job.”
