Mass. Officer Stabbed in Face Faces More Surgery, Nerve Damage

SPRINGFIELD, MA—The officer who was stabbed in the face before a fatal police shooting on Sunday needs additional surgery and likely suffered permanent nerve damage, according to a department spokesman.

The officer, whose name has not yet been disclosed to the press, was released from the hospital on Monday after undergoing surgery, said police spokesman Ryan Walsh. The officer is scheduled for additional surgery with a face and nerve specialist in Boston.

RELATED: Mass. Officer Fatally Shoots Man Accused of Stabbing Him in Face

Walsh said the officer suffered nerve damage in the attack that is likely permanent.

“He has a long road to recovery, both mentally and physically,” Walsh said.

The department and chaplain William Hamilton on Tuesday conducted a critical incident debriefing for the officers who were on the scene. The injured officer participated remotely, Walsh said.

The officer has been with the department for nine years and in the past was an instructor at the Springfield Police Training Academy. He has received numerous commendations for service with the department, Walsh said.

He was stabbed in the face during a confrontation with Orlando Taylor III at around 8:30 a.m. Sunday on Genesee Street.

According to police, the officer, after being stabbed, opened fire, hitting Taylor twice after he refused to drop the knife and lunged at him again.

Taylor, 23, died a short time later at Baystate Medical Center.

The shooting is being investigated by Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and the Springfield Police Detective Bureau under Capt. Trent Duda. Officials said all evidence, including police body cameras and video from other cameras in the area, will be carefully examined before a conclusion is determined.

The DA’s office has not disclosed any sort of timetable for when the results of the investigation will be made public.

Taylor’s family on Monday said police did not need to shoot him, and could have resolved the confrontation nonviolently through other means.

On Tuesday, a group of six religious leaders and community activists issued a statement calling upon the DA to appoint a “neutral entity” to take the lead in the investigation, saying it would “eliminate the conflict of interest that is inherent in a district attorney’s review of a police departments’ investigation into its own conduct.”

They also called for the immediate release of all police body camera footage from the incident.

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