Hero cop promoted before retirement
Thursday June 16, 2005
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Two weeks from retiring after 38 years on the job, Officer Michael Gullace was working a desk shift inside a city station house, filling out a routine report about a missing juvenile when gunfire erupted around him.
A man about to be arrested for domestic violence Wednesday night had whipped out a gun and started firing wildly, shooting two police officers and continuing to squeeze off rounds.
Gullace ran from behind the desk, grabbed the gunman's girlfriend and their two young children and threw his body over the trio, using himself as a human shield amid the flying lead. When a detective returning fire at the suspect ran out of bullets, Gullace tossed him his own weapon, enabling the officer to keep firing at the gunman, who eventually was hit by five to 10 shots.
Thursday afternoon, as one of the wounded officers was released from a hospital and the other continued to improve, police brass promoted Gullace to detective a parting gift that will sweeten the pension of an officer who had never had to draw his weapon in nearly four decades on the job.
"I thought I was going to go out quietly,'' he said at a City Hall news conference Thursday. "You never know.''
Authorities on Wednesday night had been questioning Corey Harley, who was brought to the station house after police say his girlfriend accused him of hurting her. Both of the adults were making complaints against each other, alleging domestic violence, police Chief Robert Troy said. When an investigation that included evidence of past injuries to the woman convinced officers that Harley, 27, was to blame, they told him he was about to be placed under arrest.
At that point, Harley pulled out a .22-caliber handgun he had hidden in his clothes and began firing. Without hesitating, Gullace flung himself over the woman and children.
"I heard, 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' I was just thinking of protecting the innocent people that were there, just doing my job,'' he said.
Gullace, who had pulled his own service weapon out of its holster, tossed it to Detective Jack Bennett, who had run out of bullets, and Bennett used it to continue firing.
The mother and children were unharmed. Their names and ages were not released by authorities.
Harley was in fair condition Thursday at Jersey City Medical Center. One of the officers he allegedly shot, Patrick Kirwin, was released Thursday afternoon. He had been wearing a bulletproof vest that almost certainly saved his life, police said.
``He's got this big purple bulls-eye on his back, right on his spine,'' said Sgt. Edgar Martinez. ``If he hadn't been wearing it, he would have been killed instantly.''
The second wounded officer, Sgt. Timothy Harmon, was shot in the stomach. He was in good condition Thursday.
"God wrapped his arms around the west district last night,'' Troy said. "The right officers were in the right place. It's not called the Wild West for nothing.''
Harley had not been formally charged Thursday, but police said he would face charges including attempted murder.
Troy and Mayor Jerramiah Healy said it would be impractical to place metal detectors at the entrances of police precinct buildings but said security procedures would be reviewed.
Gullace, 64, has three grown children of his own. His retirement will take effect July 1 but, with some personal days left to take, he only has to report for six or seven more shifts. He will spend those on modified duty, as is routine whenever an officer is involved in a shooting incident, police said.
His immediate plans included going straight home from Thursday's news conference to spend time with his wife. "Just relax,'' he said. "Maybe have a few drinks.''
By WAYNE PARRY
