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Framingham police officer recalls being shot in the face

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 9, 2009 01:51 PM

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

FRAMINGHAM -- When Officer Phillip Hurton ran behind a automotive garage late in the evening of April 14, he knew he was chasing an armed robbery suspect. Hurton did not realize, however, that the man standing just a few feet from him had a gun.

Seconds later, the police officer thought he was a dead man.

"It happened very fast," said Hurton, 32, who today calmly described the attack. "The first shot, I didn't even realize that I was shot. My hands came up as a reflex. And after that second shot hit me, I knew what had happened.

"The first thought I had was that I got killed."

Hurton quickly realized that he was still alive, but badly wounded. He was one of several police officers searching for three men who had allegedly robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint. Wracked by pain, Hurton stumbled out onto Beaver Street, struggling to stay on his feet, fearing that if he collapsed behind the building no one would find him in time.

"The bullet that went into my face knocked me backward. It didn't knock me down," Hurton said. "I was alone behind the building, and I decided to walk back to where my cruiser was because I wasn't sure how long I was going to be able to stay on my feet."

Officer Timothy O'Toole found his wounded colleague, called for an ambulance, and began trying to slow the flow of blood pouring out of the body of the former Marine.

The first bullet grazed Hurton's right cheek and right ear. Reflexively, he put his arms in front of his face and the second bullet tore through his left hand. It shredded his pinkie finger and burrowed through his right wrist, ripping open an artery. The bullet then slammed into his face, hitting his jaw and destroying several teeth.

Three people have been charged in the shooting, including the man who allegedly fired the .40-caliber pistol at Hurton's face. All three men have pleaded not guilty.

Hurton was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was put into a medically induced coma. He awoke several days later and spoke once again to his wife, Christina.

Hurton has recovered faster than doctors expected and hopes to return to the police force he joined in 2005 after leaving the Wayland Police Department. He said his wife, his parents, and his two younger brothers support his decision.

"It's important work," he said. "I enjoy doing it. It's something where I can have an impact on the community."

The shooting prompted an outpouring of support, and Hurton has kept all the get-well cards. On his nightstand, he keeps a framed four-leaf clover he received from a young girl whose name he does not know.

"A lot of it had to do with luck," Hurton said of his survival. "I'm not an overly religious person, but I think that something must have stepped in to save my life. I was shot at close range with a pistol to my face. A lot of people wouldn’t have survived that. It could have been worse than it was."

"But I'm still here."