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The incident happened at around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, in Albany’s Pine Hills neighborhood, just yards from the College of Saint Rose campus.
Albany Police said an officer was “ambushed” near the intersection of North Main and Western avenues after catching up to a vehicle that had fled a traffic stop for speeding.
As the officer approached the parked car, now unoccupied, the suspect appeared from behind it and shot the officer. He fired back, hitting the suspect.
Both men were taken to the hospital, where the suspect was pronounced dead.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday morning, April 18, Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins identified the suspect as 28-year-old Ameil Olayeni, of Albany.
An autopsy found that Olayeni died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, he said. He also suffered a graze wound from the officer’s gun.
According to police, at the time of the shooting Olayeni was on probation out of Albany County Court for a reckless driving charge.
Hawkins identified the injured officer as Jonathan Damphier, a three-year veteran of the department. Damphier remains hospitalized for a gunshot wound to his upper thigh.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan called the shooting “an act of depraved gun violence.”
“My thoughts are with the officer as he is being treated by the medical professionals at Albany Medical Center Hospital as well as his family and the entire Albany Police Department,” she said on Facebook.
“No one – especially not a public servant literally doing their job – should be forced to bear the trauma of an incident like this. In the coming hours and days we will do everything possible to ensure this officer’s speedy recovery and help those around him.”
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