NEW HAVEN POLICE OFFICER SHOT DURING DRUG INVESTIGATION

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A city police officer was in critical condition Friday
after he was shot in the face during a drug investigation, police said.

Officer Robert Fumiatti, 31, of West Haven, who has been with the
department for 3 1/2 years, was shot Thursday night in the Hill section of
the city, in an area known for heavy drug activity.

He underwent about 2 1/2 hours of surgery Thursday night at Yale-New Haven
Hospital.

The bullet remains lodged in his head, but surgeons did remove a fragment
that was lodged in his esophagus.

"He came out of surgery well," said Mark D'Antonio, spokesman for Yale-New
Haven Hospital.

A suspect in the shooting was taken into custody early Friday after an
intensive manhunt. The suspect was found in a yard about 1:30 a.m.

Fumiatti was wounded after he and several other plainclothes officers had
gotten out of a van to confront a black male, police said.

As the officers got out of the van, the man pulled out a small-caliber gun
and fired, shooting Fumiatti in the face.

The officers were part of the Street Interdiction Unit, which was formed
two years ago to break up low-level drug-dealing.

Fumiatti's wife, mother and father, Mayor John DeStefano and other city
leaders rushed to the hospital Thursday night.

"We're all going to say a prayer for the officer," DeStefano said.

Dozens of officers from the state and city police, four police dogs and a
state police helicopter searched the area where Fumiatti was shot.