Full Recovery Expected for Wounded Officer
Long Beach Police Officer Brian Watt, 32, was expected to make a full recovery after surgery Thursday for bullet wounds suffered when a driver who turned out to be a suspect in a carjacking opened fire after being stopped by officers.
Surgeons at Long Beach Memorial Hospital Medical Center successfully removed bullet fragments from Watt’s head and leg, said police spokesman Harry Erickson.
“The prognosis is good. He is expected to make full recovery,” Erickson said.
Watt, a motorcycle officer, was working with his partner near Long Beach and Del Amo boulevards when a car sped by at more than 70 mph, the Police Department reported.
After the two officers pulled the car over at Home Street, the driver got out and fired six shots at the officers, police said.
Watt, married with three children, was hit in the head and leg. Investigators said his helmet apparently saved his life.
Officers learned later that the gunman had stolen the vehicle in a carjacking in the parking lot at the medical center. He was still at large Thursday.
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