On January 7th, 2015, at 11:40pm, Officer Hartnett was ambushed while on duty by an armed assailant, whose intention was to assassinate a police officer. Reacting quickly, Hartnett took cover in his patrol car, but was nevertheless struck three times in his left arm by gunfire. Hartnett then exited his patrol car and fired back at the assailant, striking him once and slowing him down long enough for other responding officers to take him into custody. Hartnett’s swift and courageous actions during this incident brought credit upon himself and the department, garnered worldwide praise, and undoubtedly prevented future violent acts by this defendant. Officer Hartnett is currently recovering from his wounds and was medically retire from the Philadelphia Police Department.
