Police officers recall March shootout with armed man

Chief: Officers faced 'round after round' of gunfire while exhibiting 'bravery'

NORRISTOWN » When Upper Providence police officers responded to a mental health emergency at a home in a heavily-populated condominium community in the middle of the night in March they didn’t expect to be met by a man who fired “round after round” of gunshots at them.

“To be honest with you, you kind of don’t feel anything initially, you kind of just react, and training kicks in and you get out of the way as fast as possible. I did not expect that to happen,” township Patrolman John Burdsall, the first officer to arrive on the scene, recalled during a recent interview.

Within nine seconds of exiting his patrol car, Burdsall was fired upon. One bullet grazed the back of Burdsall’s uniform, tearing it, and struck his radio cord, disabling his police radio

during the frenetic situation punctuated by a barrage of gunfire.

“It’s very surreal,” Burdsall said as he recalled being grazed during the twohour March 16 incident that unfolded at 2:59 a.m., adding he was “very thankful” he wasn’t injured by the gunfire.

Patrolman Michael Sheehan, the second officer to arrive on the scene in the 1400 block of Meadowview Lane in the Mont Clare section of the township, came under fire as the suspect tried to flee the area in his pickup truck.

“As I pulled up, a vehicle came around the corner and I immediately was taking gunfire,” Sheehan recalled. “I was being shot at. I jumped out of my car and fell to the ground.”

Sheehan was not struck by gunfire but suffered a shoulder injury while diving for cover.

“When I was being shot at, I jumped out of the car and was on the ground. And for a split second, I thought 100% this guy was going to run me over and kill me. I thought for sure,” Sheehan described the wild scene and tense seconds.

Supported by colleagues and District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, the officers spoke this week at the county courthouse after the case against David John Naumenko, the 63-year-old man accused of two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, was closed when Naumenko died of a terminal illness before he could come to trial.

While showing their resiliency, neither Burdsall nor Sheehan wanted to discuss the emotional or physical effects of what they encountered that night as they carried out their oaths to protect and serve.

But Burdsall shared that his wife was six months pregnant at the time he faced that danger.

“So, he almost took my daughter’s father away from her,” Burdsall said.

“I think it affected my wife more than it affected me,” Sheehan added. “She had a tough time with it but time heals all wounds so I think we’ve moved on from it.”

OFFICIALS: OFFICERS RESPONDED WITH BRAVERY

“Our department has never experienced anything of this magnitude. It was a very, very big crime scene,” said U. Mark Freeman, a 31-year veteran of the Upper Providence police force who was promoted to chief of the department in May 2021. “When you receive a call in the a.m. hours of something this significant, your heart just sinks and your first concern is how are the officers doing.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my two officers. They responded with bravery. They responded with professionalism and quite frankly, they’ve handled this with the utmost dignity,” Freeman added.

The department, Freeman said, has embraced both officers and supported them.

“I’ve never actually been in their circumstances where literally within a few yards a suspect is attempting to kill you by literally just firing round after round after round in the middle of the night,” Freeman said. “But I can only imagine that there are some ramifications when you’re involved in any critical incident that anyone one of us would have challenges to overcome and return to duty.”

Without providing specifics, Freeman explained the department follows the same protocols as other departments — for anyone involved in a critical incident, there are certain steps that officers have to complete.

“Both of the officers went through the proper protocols and one has returned to full duty and the other one has a physical injury that is going to prevent him from coming back for a few more months yet,” Freeman said.

Steele maintained the officers responded to help someone who was seemingly in crisis “and what they walked into is a gunman intent on killing them.”

“But for the grace of God we would be in a very different circumstance,” Steele said.

During his tenure as district attorney, Steele said he’s seen a number of cases where officers were fired upon.

“It is a situation where they come to work, they’re trying to help people and then somebody tries to kill them. That is a difficult circumstance for an officer to go through and it’s a difficult circumstance for their families to go through,” Steele said. “This is not something that people get through quickly. I can tell you some of the cases that I’ve dealt with, officers had a difficult time because of these circumstances.

“I hope the public understands what they are going through and what the ramifications are for officers that are being fired upon as a part of their jobs and part of their service to our communities,” Steele added.

‘ROUND AFTER ROUND’ OF GUNFIRE

Authorities alleged Naumenko fired at least 17 gunshots at police at three different locations during the shootout that occurred between 2:59 and 5:09 a.m.

“This individual continued to fire round after round after round,” Freeman said.

For days afterward, Freeman said, police received reports from homeowners who found bullet holes in their vehicles.

“We were taking reports probably up to a good two weeks after the incident. It was a condominium complex so it was a miracle that nobody was injured,” Freeman said.

The investigation determined three officers fired a total of eight gunshots during the two-hour standoff.

Upper Providence police were dispatched to the Meadowview Lane residence after a family member called 911 to report a behavioral/psychiatric emergency. Naumenko’s wife reported that Naumenko was having a mental breakdown, “has guns” and was leaving their residence but was “harmless,” according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Gregory Henry.

Naumenko’s lawyer, James P. Lyons, said this week that Naumenko’s death after suffering a terminal illness leaves many questions.

“We’re never going to know why he had a psychotic break that day. There’s so much about this case that is unknown and that we’ll never know,” Lyons said.

As he arrived on the scene, Burdsall observed a white Silverado pickup truck in front of the residence and Naumenko pushing his wife toward the open passenger door. As Burdsdall said, “What’s going on?” and “Are you all right?” Naumenko began firing at the officer who had to run for cover, detectives said.

Naumenko then entered his truck and as he drove away encountered Sheehan as he arrived at the scene, court papers outlined.

Sheehan, detectives said, “heard bullets whistling past him and he could see muzzle flashes from the driver’s side of the truck.” Naumenko crashed his truck into several parked vehicles and then drove past the officer and stopped at the end of the block, detectives said.

Police observed Naumenko’s wife exiting the passenger side of the truck and the officers called to her to come to their location and secured her safety. Naumenko exited his truck and ran into a nearby treeline, detectives said.

A Limerick Township police officer arrived to assist as shots continued to be fired by Naumenko, court papers alleged. The Limerick officer was able to gain access to a second-story apartment in the area in an attempt to observe the suspect from a window.

As Naumenko allegedly reloaded his weapon, the Limerick officer discharged his patrol rifle one time, striking Naumenko once in the upper right arm and causing him to fall to the ground.

Members of the Montgomery County SWAT Western Region responded to the area and observed Naumenko lying in a grassy area, moved in and took Naumenko into custody, where he was treated by emergency medical responders and transported to a local hospital for treatment of his wound.

Steele and Freeman thanked officers from other area departments who descended upon the area to assist during the active shooter situation.

In addition to Upper Providence, officers from Limerick and Collegeville and the Montgomery County SWAT Western Region responded.