Say a prayer for a Los Angeles Police Officer who was shot a few days ago while trying to apprehend a career criminal who had just robbed a convenience store. She is now paralyzed from the waist down. Here is how the story first came out :
A Los Angeles Police Department officer shot by an armed robbery suspect remains hospitalized today in critical but stable condition.
She and her partner, Officer Joe Mayer, were patrolling in the neighborhood when James Fenton McNeal, 52, ran in front of their patrol car on Leighton Avenue, police said.
The officers followed on foot, and when McNeal got to the front porch of a nearby residence, he turned and shot at them, wounding Ripatti, police said. Mayer then returned fire, fatally wounding McNeal in the chest.
[…]Ripatti, a 10-year LAPD veteran, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. She is married to another officer, Tim Pierce, and they have a 15- month-old daughter.
Bratton said McNeal was a career criminal who had served multiple prison terms for violent crimes such as armed robbery and murder. Just before encountering the officers, McNeal robbed a gas station, a crime captured on security video, Bratton said.
Her husband is also a LAPD officer and was also one of the first to arrive at their call for help:
Tim Pearce said he and his wife, Kristina Ripatti, had hard conversations about their dangerous line of work — both are Los Angeles police officers — and the impact it could have on their 15-month-old daughter.
"There's always been the worry that somebody would get shot and killed and leave the baby with just one parent," he said.
On Saturday night, that almost happened.
Ripatti, a 33-year-old Redondo Beach resident and 10-year LAPD veteran, was patrolling the Exposition Park area of Los Angeles when she was shot by an ex-convict who police allege robbed a gasoline station. She was struck twice. One bullet hit her in the arm, and the other entered her chest near her armpit, above her protective vest.
When he heard about the incident and its location over his police radio, Pearce was on duty across town. He said he had a hunch it was his wife and her partner, officer Joe Meyer.
Pearce raced with his partner to the scene. Just as their patrol car approached, he said he received word from a colleague: "It's Kristina. She's down."
She lost a lot of blood, but officials said quick work by her colleagues saved her life.
[…]Officials said Ripatti and Meyer approached 52-year-old James McNeal after seeing him running across a street in front of their car.
They followed him on foot, but he fired at Ripatti five times. Meyer shot back, killing McNeal.
Meyer then tended to Ripatti — trying to stem the flow of blood — and called for help.
A plainclothes officer, Sgt. Robin Brown, arrived moments later and helped Meyer with the bleeding. Four SWAT officers, who had just finished a crime-suppression detail two blocks south of the shooting, arrived a minute after Meyer's call. The four officers are emergency medical technicians.
Pearce said when he saw his wife he didn't think she was going to survive. She was pale and staring straight up.
He said he had to control himself and stay out of the way of medical personnel.
"I was talking to her and she wasn't registering," he said. "I gave her a kiss and told her I loved her."
As she improved in the hospital, Pearce said his wife told him that she heard him talking to her and she wanted to tell him not to worry.
[…]The SWAT officers, Ralph Ward, 51, Gary Koba, 43, Gil Pinel, 42, and Keith Bertonneau, 37, received a standing ovation at the commission meeting.
"She was dying, no pulse and they brought her back and she's here with us, she's here with her husband, she's here with her daughter, her family and with this department," Bratton said.
Commission member Alan Skobin emotionally noted that some community leaders are quick to decry the LAPD whenever an officer shoots a suspect or uses force, but in this case when an officer is shot "there is no outrage."
"I question whether people are dehumanizing police officers," he said.
The really sad part about this, amongst others, is the fact the suspect was shooting a .22 which our vests would easily stop. But it entered into her armpit area. In all probability she will never walk again:
Los Angeles police officials on Wednesday acknowledged that officer Kristina Ripatti, who was shot twice by an ex-convict she was trying to pursue Saturday, is paralyzed from the chest down.
"She is paralyzed but with cases like this, the long-term prognosis is hard to predict," said officer Kevin Maiberger, a department spokesman. "So we're hopeful, but they are saying she is paralyzed."
The officer can move her arms but not her waist or legs, he said.
If you can spare a few dollars please donate a few to help with her families medical bills and recovery:
An account has been established with the Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union to accept donations to help with Ripatti's medical bills. Checks can be made out to the LAPFCU with a notation that the money should be designated for the "Kristina Ripatti Trustee Account," and mailed to the credit union at 16150 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91410.
Anything will help.
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