Honoring police officer’s pledge to protect and serve

Just because he no longer wears the uniform, it doesn’t mean Jesse Hartnett takes any less seriously the oath he took. To protect and serve.

It is the motto at the core of police work.

It is what Hartnett was doing on Jan. 7, 2016. The Philadelphia police officer was sitting in his cruiser at an intersection of 60th and Spruce in Southwest Philadelphia.

The area had been dealing with a recent outbreak of robberies. On a bitter cold night Hartnett had his window cracked so he could hear anything going on around him.

He heard a man approaching the car and caught the glimpse of a gun.

The chilling video is now familiar – and a recurring nightmare to Hartnett and every police officer.

The video shows a man in a long white trench coat approaching Hartnett’s cruiser, his arms outstretched, with a gun in his hand in a classic military pose.

The gunman opened fire on Hartnett at pointblank range. At one point the video showed the man literally with his gun inside the cruiser’s window.

The gunman fired 13 times. Hartnett was hit in the arm, shoulder and wrist. He recalls his arm going limp after being struck by a bullet.

Despite this, Hartnett managed to scramble out of his cruiser and return fire. The suspect was hit and was captured a short distance away.

It was just the start of a long struggle for Hartnett. He spent 14 days in the intensive care unit and underwent 11 separate surgeries. His arm was reconstructed, along with his badly damaged humerus bone.

That was three years ago. Hartnett continues to suffer with debilitating nerve pain and other issues that likely will dog him the rest of his life. Despite his struggles, he has not yet been able to return to the force.

“It’s something I wanted my entire life and to have it taken away,” Hartnett said recently.

That does not mean Hartnett has stopped serving. He’s just found another outlet to do it.

With the help of some friends at a Main Line bike shop, later this month Hartnett will take part in the Ben to the Shore charity bike ride. It’s what used to be called the Tour de Shore. Most appropriately, it raises money for the families of police officers and first responders killed or injured in the line of duty.

But first Hartnett needed some adjustments to his “wheels.” His injuries have created a lack of strength in his upper body, in particular his badly injured left arm.

Kyle Schmeer, the owner of Cycles BiKyle in Bryn Mawr, rode to the rescue in customizing a bike for Hartnett. The key was making sure not too much of his weight fell on his left side.

Mark O’Connor, who started the bike ride 37 years ago through his business, the Irish Pub in Philly, calls Hartnett an inspiration.

“Our mission is to care for the families of fallen first responders in the greater Philadelphia or South Jersey area or the severely injured as is the case with Jesse Hartnett,” O’Connor said. “It’s just fantastic that he’s riding … he’s a real inspiration. 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.”

The riders will take off July 28 at the Base of the Ben Franklin Bridge at 7 a.m.

Jesse Hartnett will be right there among them.

A heinous ambush attacker may have derailed Hartnett’s dream of being a police officer, one that started when he served in the Coast Guard and was honed on the East Lansdowne police force.

But he could not keep Jesse Hartnett from taking up the policeman’s code.

He’s still looking to protect and serve.

Ride on, Jesse!

The gunman fired 13 times. Officer Hartnett was hit in the arm, shoulder and wrist. He recalls his arm going limp after being struck by a bullet.