Bristol officers, dispatchers recognized for apprehending suspect in police lobby shooting
A number of Bristol police officers and dispatchers were recognized Tuesday with awards and medals for multiple heroic and exemplary acts, including those who helped successfully apprehend a woman who walked into the Bristol Police Department lobby and began firing a gun last October, just days away from the first anniversary of two officers being killed in the line of duty.
“They were able to formulate a plan, they were able to execute that plan and, best case scenario, nobody got hurt,” Bristol police Chief Brian Gould told media members following a Board of Police Commissioners meeting in City Hall. “And that’s what they’re all about.”
During what would be Gould’s last police commissioner meeting after announcing earlier this month that he would retire in early April, he presented the Distinguished Service Medal to more than a dozen officers and dispatchers who worked together to take 51-year-old Suzanne Laprise into custody on Oct. 6.
Laprise stumbled into the police department lobby at 131 N. Main St. at 10:35 p.m. and paced around with a firearm in her hand before she started pounding on the windows to the front desk where an officer would usually be stationed, according to police. She then fired multiple gunshots at the bullet-resistant glass throughout the lobby.
The bullets did not penetrate the windows, but the ringing of gunfire brought multiple officers to the hallways leading into the lobby area.
Laprise then fired multiple rounds at the responding officers before one of them returned fire, though the gunshots were once again stopped by bullet-resistant glass. Officers rushed the lobby once Laprise set the firearm down and tasered her, taking her to a local hospital before she was charged with attempted murder with special circumstances, illegal discharge of a firearm and a number of other firearm and related charges. City officials have said they believe the 51-year-old was trying to commit suicide by cop.
According to Lt. Robert Osborne, those who received awards for their role in apprehending Laprise included dispatchers David Wallace, Nicholas Wright and Jason Mendez; Officers Spencer Boisvert, Jason DaCosta, Nicholas Voghel, Timothy Hall, Christopher Bordner, Zachary Rodriguez, Jared Yager, John Dietter, Hunter Damon-Smith and John Duncan; Sergeants Jace DeLuca and Brian Jones; Lt. Christopher Lennon; and Det. Joanne Lattanzio.
Gould presented the recipients with awards “from a grateful city, for service and dedication to the ideals of the Bristol Police Department and the city of Bristol.”
The chief said everyone involved worked together using the police department’s camera system and communicated with each other throughout the incident, sharing intelligence with officers about what was going on in the lobby. Gould said police were able to save a life and avoid anyone being seriously hurt.
“I continue to be impressed by the bravery and exemplary service of our officers in the face of danger,” Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano, who sits on the Board of Police Commissioners, told The Courant. “Bravo.”
The shooting in the lobby came nearly a year after Lt. Dustin DeMonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy were shot and killed on Oct. 12, 2022, during an ambush attack after responding to a phony domestic violence call on Redstone Hill Road.
Several other police officers and dispatchers were recognized Tuesday evening for things like apprehending two suspects in an armed kidnapping, arresting a robbery suspect and helping save an elderly woman who went unconscious.
