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Two Massachusetts Police Officers Survive Wounds From Shootout

NTD Newsroom
By NTD Newsroom
July 28, 2018US News
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Two Massachusetts Police Officers Survive Wounds From Shootout
Police officers swarm the scene where Malik Koval shot two officers on July 27, 2018. (Screenshot via Boston25News)

Two police officers from Falmouth, Massachusetts, survived being shot in a gunfight with a 21-year-old suspect on Friday, July 27.

Officers Donald Demiranda and Ryan Moore both sustained bullet wounds. Both are expected to recover fully.

The shooter was shot several times by police officers. He also survived and was arrested.  

According to the Cape Cod Times, two officers responded to a call about a disturbance in East Falmouth around 5:25 p.m. on Friday, July 27.

According to transmissions recorded from a police scanner, the dispatcher told one officer, there was a “single African-American male, screaming and smashing bottles in the street.” They didn’t know his name.

[Audio: Police Scanner Recording]

One of the officers radios in, “Getting shot at.” The dispatcher ordered, “A unit’s available, head to Ashley drive.” Several seconds later an officer, possibly Car 43 said, “I think I’ve been shot.”

About 30 seconds later another officer reported that the suspect has been shot in the arm.

Another officer reported that he had been “grazed in the back of the head” by a bullet.

The dispatcher made sure that the scene was secure so that the rescue unit could attend to the victims.  

No Warning, Just Gunfire

After the scene was secured, more details emerged.

The officers came upon 21-year-old Malik Antonio Koval in the street near his home. Apparently a woman had reported to the police that Koval was harassing her.

When the two officers tried to engage Koval in conversation he became increasingly agitated.

Koval went into a home and returned with a gun in his hand, Falmouth Police Chief Ed Dunne said at a press conference Friday night. Koval opened fire, striking both officers. Both officers returned fire, hitting Koval several times. 

According to the Westerly Sun, Koval had been arrested in Westerly, Rhode Island, in November 2017, on a charge of reckless driving and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, a civil offense.  Koval fled when an officer tired to pull him over for a traffic infraction, the Sun reported. He led the officer on a high-speed chase before finally surrendering.

Koval was also ticketed for speeding on a motorcycle at age 19, SouthCoastToday reported. No further criminal history is currently available.

Kimberly Koval and Marcus Maseda were arrested at the scene and charged with interfering with the duties of a police officer and other charges for allegedly interfering with officers, LMT Online reported.. Kimberly Koval is believed to be the suspect’s mother.   

Both Officers Should Recover

At a press conference following the shooting, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said that both officers were going to be fine.

“Both officers, we are grateful, are going to recover, we hope,” he said. “They’re good police officers, experienced police officers.”

O’Keefe explained that the officer who had been grazed by a bullet was treated and released. The other officer had been hit twice. His tactical vest stopped one round, but the other entered his chest above the vest.

“He is presently in a hospital and they are going to certainly monitor him,” O’Keefe said, adding that the officer was fully conscious and talking to his family.

“This is obviously a very dangerous job and we just have to keep that in mind,” he said.

The suspect, Malik Koval, was first transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Plymouth, before being flown to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston by medical helicopter, 25News reported.

It is not yet known what had upset Koval.

One witness, Tricia Doughty, told the Cape Cod Times she saw Koval yelling at a woman in a white SUV prior to the incident.

“I saw him approach a white SUV and he was taunting her—whoever, the woman in the SUV. He was almost harassing her, yelling at her,” she explained.

Doughty said the man tried to open the woman’s car door but it was locked. “She picked up her phone, so I am like ‘Okay she’s calling the police,’ so I kept going.”      

‘Happening Way Too Much’

At the Friday night press conference, Falmouth Police Chief Ed Dunne was visibly upset about the shootings.

“This is happening way too much,” he stated.

“We’ve got to return back to a time when police officers are respected and it is not okay to shoot a police officer.”

Many Massachusetts residents, both law enforcement officers and civilians, are grieving the murder of two other officers in the past four months.

Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon, 32, was one of several officers serving a warrant to an address in the village of Marston Mills, Massachusetts, on April 13, when 29-year-old Thomas Latanowich, of Somerville, Massachusetts, opened fire. Gannon was fatally shot, ABC News reports.

Latanowich was arrested and charged with murder.

Then on July 15, Weymouth, Massachusetts Officer Michael Chesna was killed with his own gun. Emanuel Lopes, 20, allegedly struck Chesna in the head with a large rock, stunning the officer. Lopes then took Chesna’s gun and shot the officer in the head and chest.

Lopes fired several shots while fleeing from police, one of which struck and killed a woman inside a nearby house. Lopes was shot in the leg and apprehended, Patch.com reported.

A Nice Neighborhood

According to residents, the East Falmouth neighborhood is a quiet suburban setting that had a few problems but has been gentrifying for the past decade.

Susan Benjamin has lived in the area for 17 years. She told the Cape Cod Times, “When I first moved here the whole top of the street was trash and had dumpings. One by one the houses were sold off and people are moving and remodeling them.”

George Barbas told the Cape Cod Times, “It’s a real shock. It’s a nice neighborhood. We live here during the summer and it’s great. Kids are everywhere.”

Barbas expressed dismay that society had decayed to its current condition.

“It’s stupid,” he said. “It’s OK to shoot police officers now.”   

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker released this statement:

“Governor Baker is saddened to learn of tonight’s senseless shooting in Falmouth that has left two police officers injured and is praying for their swift recoveries. The Baker-Polito Administration believes the brave men and women who risk their lives every day to protect and serve our communities deserve our deepest respect.”

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