On Thursday, December 10, a Milford Police officer was shot while assisting the Delaware State Police and the United States Marshal Service attempt to apprehend a murder suspect in Rehoboth. Attorney General Kathy Jennings released the following statement Friday:
“My thoughts — and those of every person in this Department — are with a Milford police officer who was hospitalized after being wounded during a U.S. Marshals Service operation last night. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force located an attempted murder suspect who had fled from Pennsylvania and moved to apprehend him when the suspect opened fire. The suspect was killed in the firefight.
Milford is a small town with a dedicated police force – like the rest of our state, the relationships are close. The attempt on this officer and his fellow officers’ lives has only been public for a short time, but I know that his entire community is hurt, angry, and rooting hard for a swift recovery. All of us at the DOJ are, too.
Anyone can say that law enforcement is a dangerous job, but in moments like this it is impossible to capture the inherent risk that our officers accept, head on, every time they go to work. Many of the staff at the DOJ — from our investigators to our chief of staff — were Delaware police officers. We don’t just share a mission; we are a family. We thank all three officers on scene last night for the bravery it takes just to do their jobs. And we are praying for this courageous man with all our hearts.”
The name of the officer is being withheld out of respect for his family. It is reported that he is in stable condition.