Following a routine traffic check, a veteran Woodbury police officer was stabbed in the neck and is currently recovering in the hospital. At 1:24 PM, Woodbury Resident Troopers’ Office Officer Tim Wright stopped a car on North Main Street for a moving infraction.
Tyler Wilmot, 31, the motorist, complied with the call to pull over, according to state police. However, things took a bad turn when the driver exited the vehicle and brought a knife to Officer Wright.
Wilmot, according to State Police, was verbally belligerent and disobeyed verbal instructions.
“Officer Wright activated his emergency button on his radio calling for assistance,” Sergeant Luke Davis, Connecticut State Police stated.
When someone called for assistance, the police department, which is located roughly a mile away, responded right away. As Officer Wright’s injuries were being attended to, Officer John Covello arrived on the scene and assisted in using a taser to aid detain Wilmot.
Officer Wright was taken to Waterbury Hospital by Woodbury Resident Trooper Matthew Costella, who moved quickly. Despite his injuries, Officer Wright is expected to recover fully.
“It certainly is a contributing factor, yes. He is very lucky that the injuries were not anywhere close to any major arteries. But the immediate treatment was a contributing factor to a speedy recovery here, absolutely,” Davis stated.
Wilmot was also brought to the hospital, but he was soon allowed to leave and is still being held by the police. Living directly across the street, Chris Ryan notes that it’s uncommon to witness such an event in the small town.
“This is unheard of for a tiny little town like this. I’m very shocked,” Ryan stated. “Coming home from work I tried to pull in my driveway and there were about 40 police cars here.”
Wilmot faces charges include attacking a public safety officer, driving a motor vehicle without a license, failing to display a registration plate, having an unreadable license plate, interfering with an officer, and first-degree assault.
With a $3,000,000 bond, he is being held and is scheduled to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Friday. Officer Wright has worked as a law enforcement officer for 35 years.
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“No call is routine whatsoever. It does not matter, even if it is just a minor traffic violation that they observed. We still have a heightened awareness when we are approaching that as well as a sense of caution and how we deal with it,” Sergeant Davis stated. “We don’t know going into the circumstances what is going to happen and what this person’s intentions are. This situation unfolded very, very quickly.”
Given his background, officials say it’s likely that Officer Wright knew the suspect. A press conference was held by state police at 5:00 PM in the Woodbury Resident Trooper’s Office, which is situated at 261 S Main Street in Woodbury.
