A man who was shot by police and later died had to wait 10 extra minutes for an ambulance after an officer having a “mild anxiety attack” took the first one that arrived at the scene, according to a newly released state investigation.
Dyshan Best, 39, was shot in the back last year as he fled from officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A report released this week by the state’s inspector general found that the shooting was justified because Best had a gun in his hand and the officer pursuing him had reasons to fear for his own safety.
But the report raised questions about what took place in the moments after the 31 March 2025 shooting, which left Best, who was Black, bleeding with severe internal injuries.
The first ambulance called to take Best to the hospital arrived at the scene at 6.02pm, about 14 minutes after the shooting. However, at the urging of other officers, that ambulance was used to take away a white police officer, Erin Perrotta, who had been involved in the foot chase, the report said.
Paramedics reported that Perrotta declined treatment in the ambulance.
“I am fine, I just needed to get out of here,” she said, according to the report. Another officer described Perrotta at the time as “visibly hysterical (crying and breathing rapidly) and had blood all over her uniform”, the report said.
The second ambulance arrived at the scene at about 6.12pm. Hospital records said Best was brought in for treatment at 6.22pm – about 14 minutes after Perrotta got to the hospital, according to the report. He died at 7.41pm as he was undergoing treatment for the gunshot wound, which damaged his liver and right kidney.
The report by Eliot Prescott, Connecticut’s inspector general, did not say whether the delay in waiting for another ambulance contributed to Best’s death.
One of Best’s nieces, Tatiana Barrett, told the Associated Press that revelations from the report have angered and saddened family and friends. They believe he could have survived if he was taken to the hospital in the first ambulance.
“Honestly it’s heartbreaking hearing all these details,” she said. “We were looking for justice. In our community, we don’t know what justice looks like. We want justice for my uncle. We truly believe he was murdered.”
A spokesperson for the Bridgeport police, Shawnna White, declined to comment on Wednesday when asked about Perrotta taking the first ambulance. She said in an email that the police department’s internal affairs division would conduct its own investigation.
Perrotta currently is out on administrative leave due to an unrelated matter, which White did not disclose.
Phone and email messages were left on Wednesday for Perrotta, the Bridgeport mayor’s office, Prescott’s office, the city police union and Darnell Crosland, a lawyer for Best’s family.
The incident that led to Best being shot began when someone called 911 to report a brawl involving about 30 people, including some who had guns.
