The Associated Press
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) -- A police officer shot a man twice Monday night after being struck in the head with a pistol during an arrest.
The shooting on the city’s east side occurred shortly after a car accident around 8 p.m., Utica Police Lt. Ronald Fontaine said.
After the accident, the driver attempted to flee the scene and officer Joseph Amerosa chased him down, Utica Police Chief Allen Pylman said Tuesday. The suspect, Jose Ayuso, 24, of Utica, then fought with Amerosa, striking him over the left eye with a 9-millimeter pistol, Pylman said.
When Ayuso again tried to flee, Amerosa pulled his service revolver and wounded the suspect twice, Pylman said. Ayuso was listed in guarded condition Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, according to Pylman.
Amerosa, who left the scene holding a white cloth to his head, was treated at another hospital for a cut and bruises and released, Fontaine said.
“He’s just shaken by the whole ordeal, but he seems to be holding his own,” Pylman said of Amerosa, who has been a member of the police force for a little over one year.
Police were trying to piece together how the car accident and shooting were related, Capt. Lawrence Pawlinga said. Pylman said Amerosa had made a drug arrest earlier in the evening near the accident and had just witnessed more suspicious activity in the area when the accident occurred.
Nine years ago, a 40-year-old Utica man was shot and killed by Utica police at a city motel. The shooting occurred in a room as the suspect, Paul Kennedy, fired a theatrical prop at police. Kennedy was shot six times.