Photos from the sceneIthaca (WSYR-TV) – An Ithaca police officer who was shot Thursday night is recovering at a Syracuse hospital after undergoing two surgeries.
Officer Anthony Augustine, a 5-year veteran of the force, was shot while in pursuit of a suspect who had allegedly stolen a vehicle.
The suspect, Jamel A. Booker was identified during a press conference Friday afternoon.
Police say Officer Augustine was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting, but was hit in the upper left chest, just missing his vest.
Officer Augustine is currently in stable condition at the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
A preliminary investigation has found that Booker had stolen a vehicle that he found with keys inside around 11 p.m.
Booker fled the vehicle and there was a foot chase, police said, and as Augustine approached, Booker fired the shot.
The Ithaca SWAT team caught Booker just before 5 a.m. about a quarter mile from where the shooting happened in the West Hill area of the city. He was taken into custody without incident.
Police believe Booker was alone in the car at the time of the incident.
Authorities say the incident happened just before a shift change, which enabled them to have extra officers available to respond.
Police say that Booker has a prior record that they believe includes a felony violent crime.
Booker has been charged with aggravated assault of a police officer and criminal use of a firearm. He is being held on $500,000 cash bail or $1-million bond.
