HE’S BACK ON A ROLL
PHILLY COP, DELCO NATIVE WOUNDED IN AMBUSH ATTACK PLANS RIDE FOR COPS KIN
LOWER MERION >> A little more than three years after he was shot in a brutal attack, a former Philadelphia police officer and Delaware County native is working with a Bryn Mawr bike shop to complete a 65-mile ride in The Ben to The Shore bike ride that helps families of fallen and injured first responders.
For Jesse Hartnett, who grew up in East Lansdowne and is a Monsignor Bonner High School alum, the event that would change his life forever goes back to Jan. 7, 2016. On that night, Hartnett was working the 8 p.m.-4 a.m. shift sitting inside his patrol car in the city’s 18th district.
Although it was a cold January night, the windows were cracked a little, so he could hear anything going on around him.
He was getting ready to pull his patrol car through the intersection of Spruce and 60th Street when he was able to catch a glimpse of a man holding a gun.
There had been some recent robberies in the area, so he was expecting there’d be a foot chase. But instead, the man opened fire on him at point-blank range, at one point literally holding the gun inside the car window.
The surveillance footage showing the attack, which the gunman proclaimed to be inspired by his allegiance to ISIS, was broadcast throughout the world.
When the bullets began flying, Hartnett said his reaction was to take cover. He put up his arm and tried to get as low as possible.
The gunman shot 13 times in total. Twelve of the shots went directly into the car, and one as the perpetrator was running away.
Hartnett was struck in the arm and wrist. One went into his shoulder.
When he went to pick himself from the ground, his left arm fell limp as if he had no control over it.
Hartnett, a 2001 Bonner grad and former East Lansdowne officer, still managed to fire back at the man, but he didn’t know how many times. The police report indicated he fired seven shots. The man had been shot and was down and was later arrested. Edward Archer, of Yeadon, was convicted by a jury on all counts and sentenced to 48.5 to 97 years in prison.
As Hartnett made it back to his patrol car, he could see the blue lights headed down Spruce Street. A couple of officers quickly scooped him up and got him to the hospital.
He was in the ICU for 14 days and had 11 surgeries throughout the rest of 2016.
His arm was reconstructed through a new technique, and doctors were able to repair his humerus bone, which had been damaged by one of the gunshots.
In the years that followed the shooting, Hartnett said he’s wanted to return to the department. Before having become a police officer, first in East Lansdowne and then in Philadelphia, he served eight years on active duty in the Coast Guard, where he was involved in law enforcement.
Despite the injuries, Hartnett said he still wanted and expected to go back to work as a police officer.
“It’s something I wanted my entire life and to have it taken away,” Hartnett said in a recent interview.
More than three years after the shooting, Hartnett said he is still facing nerve pain and other issues that will affect him the rest of his life.
So if he couldn’t still be a police officer, he would try to push past and prove something.
“Just to be able to show other officers that we can still press on,” he said.
“It was a pleasure and an honor to work with Jesse because he is a special person and hats off to him because it’s unbelievable what he went through.”
— Kyle Schmeer, owner of Cycles BiKyle on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr
One way he wants to press on is to get involved with The Ben to The Shore bike ride taking place later this month. In its 37th year, the ride raises money for the families of first responders in the Philadelphia region that have been killed or injured.
But with his injuries, Hartnett needed a customized bike for the ride.
Enter Kyle Schmeer, owner of Cycles BiKyle on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr. Schmeer said in customizing a bike for Hartnett one of the things they were concerned about was in the loss of strength in his left arm that he suffered due to the injuries.
“Once we got him up on the bike, we found that by getting him in the right position that he had enough strength to handle the shifting and the braking,” Schmeer said.
Since every bike at his shop is customized, once they got him on the bike they just made sure not too much of his weight fell to his arms and shoulders and in particular to his left side.
“So once we did the original customizing, we didn’t have to take any extra steps, which was surprising and satisfying,” Schmeer said.
Hartnett had only gone to Schmeer in May, and they were able to have him riding in about a week, he said.
“It was a pleasure and an honor to work with Jesse because he is a special person and hats off to him because it’s unbelievable what he went through,” Schmeer said.
Mark O’Connor helped start The Ben to The Shore ride as the Tour de Shore 37 years ago as something they did through his business, the Irish Pub in Philadelphia.
“Our mission is to care for the families of fallen first responders in the greater Philadelphia and South Jersey area or in the severely injured as is the case with Jesse Hartnett,” O’Connor said.
The bike ride began with about 20 riders raising a couple of thousand dollars. Last year those numbers jumped to about 2,600 participants, and $1.1 million was raised.
“It’s a very serious ride to raise money for a very serious cause but to have a good time doing it,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor called Hartnett’s ride an inspiration.
“It’s just fantastic that he’s riding … he’s a real inspiration,” O’Connor said. “What’s he’s been through and what he will continue to go through as a result of the attack he suffered, but he is just one of so many of the families that are connected to our ride.”
This year’s ride takes place July 28 when riders kick off in front of the Ben Franklin Bridge at 7 a.m. The first riders will finish at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City in less than three hours. Most of the riders will finish in five to six hours, O’Connor said.