Duty Death: Benjamín De los Santos-Barbosa - [San Juan]
End of Service: 19/04/2017
By Police1 Staff
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Puerto Rican police officer died Wednesday from a gunshot wound he sustained during a suspect pursuit.
According to ODMP, Agent Benjamin De los Santos-Barbosa and three other officers attempted to pull over a vehicle April 16 with an illegal window tint when the driver, who was on parole for narcotics charges, fled.
The driver backed into a patrol car when he couldn’t get around a car blocking the roadway and opened fire as he exited the car, hitting De los Santos-Barbosa in the head. ODMP reported that the other officers and a bystander returned fire and wounded the suspect. He was treated and released to police custody.
De los Santos-Barbosa, an almost six-year veteran of the department, was transported to a hospital where he died from his injuries four days after he was shot.
De los Santos-Barbosa’s sister was also an officer with the department and was slain off-duty in 2010. De los Santos-Barbosa is survived by his nephew.
The suspect is facing 15 charges, including murder, narcotics violations and weapons violations.