On January 7th, 2016, at 11:40pm, Officer Hartnett was ambushed while on duty by an armed assailant, whose intention was to assassinate a police officer. Reacting quickly, Hartnett took cover in his patrol car, but was nevertheless struck three times in his left arm by gunfire. Hartnett then exited his patrol car and fired back at the assailant, striking him once and slowing him down long enough for other responding officers to take him into custody. Hartnett’s swift and courageous actions during this incident brought credit upon himself and the department, garnered worldwide praise, and undoubtedly prevented future violent acts by this defendant. Officer Hartnett is currently recovering from his wounds and is looking forward to returning to work and serving the citizens of Philadelphia.

Jesse's Note: Just before midnight on Januray 7th, I was attacked, shot at 13 times by my attacker who was trying to kill me for being a Police Officer. What will it take for our Police to feel like they can conduct their jobs safely. I strongly believe that ballistic panels will buy precious and valuable time, this is a huge step. If I had a ballistic barrier between myself and the gunman, I wouldn't have had so much damage to my body. If a Ballistic Panel was in place it would have bought valuable time.

Please consider donating to the Hartnett Hero Fund to help purchase ballistic panels and vehicle armor to keep our officers safer!in_the_news

Some of the media coverage concerning PO Jesse Hartnett's incident.

Officer Hartnett gets married 6 months after surviving ambush, http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Officer-Hartnett-Gets-Married-6-Months-After-Surviving-Ambush-Shooting_Philadelphia-385285701.html, 7/2/16

Officer injured in ambush shooting to throw first pitch at Phillies game http://6abc.com/news/officer-injured-in-ambush-throwing-pitch-at-phillies-game/1281416/, 4/7/16

Hockey benefit held for Ofc. Jesse Hartnett in Northeast Philadelphia http://6abc.com/1264521/, 3/24/16

Yeadon man held for trial in shooting of Delco native Jesse Hartnett http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20160311/NEWS/160319954, 3/11/16

Ambushed Officers Takes Stand as Suspect Edward Archer Faces Attempted Murder Charges http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Officer-Jesse-Hartnett-Ambush-Edward-Archer-371629461.html, 3/10/16

Police Officer Jesse Hartnett details ambush by gunman in West Philadelphia http://6abc.com/1239968/, 3/10/16

Cop hurt in alleged ISIS-inspired shooting named Man of the Year, http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/philly/news&id=367695591, 2/4/16

Wounded Phila. police officer feted at FOP benefit http://mobile.philly.com/news/?wss=/philly/news&id=366859421, 1/29/16

Ambushed Philly Cop Released From Hospital, http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/01/22/ambushed-philly-cop-released-from-hospital/, 1/22/16

Suspect Arraigned, Held Without Bail In Shooting Of Philadelphia Police Officer, http://6abc.com/news/suspect-arraigned-held-without-bail-in-shooting-of-philly-police-officer/1150918/, 1/10/16

Wounded Philadelphia officer shoots attacker; suspect pledges allegiance to ISIS, http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/09/us/philadelphia-police-officer-shot/, 1/9/16