On June 13, 2002, Officer Robert Fumiatti, along with about 10 undercover officers had just finished a drug raid in another section of New Haven when they drove up to Washington and West streets in an unmarked van. They spotted what they thought was a hand-to-hand drug deal and stopped the vehicle. Fumiatti was the first officer out. He was shot before he could draw his gun at 2115 p.m. A 36yo previous convicted felon, shot Officer Fumiatti with a 38 caliber Colt Cobra revolver and then fled from police. Fumiatti's heart stopped and was restarted in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room at Yale-New Haven Hospital and arrived there at 9:25 p.m. He was dead for 3 minutes and 43 seconds. The single bullet entered Fumiatti's right cheek about level with the bottom of his ear and ricocheted downward off a molar, ripping through the esophagus and cracking his top vertebra in officer's Fumiatti's neck. The bullet, which was never removed, caused partial paralysis to his arm. Up to 100 officers as well as Connecticut State Police and officers from neighboring towns quickly converged on the scene in a massive manhunt for the shooter and cordoned off a nearly six-block area as they search yard by yard with shepherds and a blood hound along with state police helicopters. A police SWAT team found Bell hiding under a bush in a yard 50 yards from family members at approximately 2 a.m. and arrested him after a four -and-a-half hour search through the city's neighborhood. Superior Court Judge Holly Abery-Wetstone set bail at 5 million after the suspect was arrested. For weeks Fumiatti was in critical condition. He had to wear a halo brace for 4 1/2 months bolted to his head for the resulting cervical fracture. He spent a month in the hospital and suffered partial paralysis of one arm for months and spent a year in intense physical therapy. He had frequent visits to his physicians to keep track of a pacemaker he was given to help him recover with his injuries. At the time of the incident, Fumiatti was a three and a half year veteran of the New Haven Police Department and was assigned to the patrol unit. After Robert Fumiatti was shot in the face he was out of work for 18 months and then returned to work in January 26, 2004 as a K-9 Handler after intensive rehab, even though a bullet remained lodged near his spine. He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered several setbacks that put him on leave for awhile. Fumiatti's father, Vin, retired in 1994 as a detective from the New Haven Police Department. On September 14, 2004 Robert was awarded the purple heart by New Haven officials. On January 10, 2007 Officer Robert Fumiatti died of natural causes related to cardiac sarcoidosis an autopsy showed. Officer Fumiatti was buried with his badge, # 24, the same badge worn by his father and now that badge number will be retired and never worn again. Approximately one thousand mourners attended his funeral along with dozens of police canines. He is survived by his wife and their three children ages 11, 7 and 2. His K-9 narcotic dog is "Major".

Please visit www.fum24.com which was made in his honor.