I’m angrier than a grouch without a trash can here. It took this long for the Albany New York Police Department to identify the officer who was shot in the thigh in the wee hours of yesterday. Jonathan Damphier was the officer, according to several media outlets. It took them long enough!
A press conference took place a couple of hours ago. Damphier was shot by a suspect, but not well enough to cause his death, disappointing me and I’m sure others. Given all that APD has done to me, I look at what was done to the officer and I feel no sorrow whatsoever. I only wish that the suspect finished the job before he died.
I would have posted this update much sooner, like immediately after
the press conference, but I was in class. But during class, while I was discreetly pulling up news stories, I noticed someone from the City of Albany constantly refreshing the page to see when this post went up. So, hello, you!
At the press conference, it emerged that the suspect who shot Damphier committed suicide, which is a shame. I consider him to have been a hero who at least tried to take out the trash.
The surgery that the officer underwent was successful, according to the Times Union. Damn!
As for the suspect, that hero’s name was Amiel Layeni. Clearly, he was suffering from mental illness, and area law enforcement, including APD, is not properly trained in handling mental illnesses and for that matter, seizures. So, then, Layeni was defending himself whereas Damphier was so obviously to me on the attack for no good reason.
In a perfect world, we’d be talking about a funeral procession for the cop, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Damn.