A man who was shot by police and later died had to wait 10 more minutes for an ambulance after an officer suffering from a “mild anxiety attack” picked up the first person on the scene, according to a newly released state investigation.
Dyshan Best, 39, was shot in the back last year while fleeing from officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A report released this week by the state inspector general found that the shooting was justified because Best had a gun in his hand and the officer pursuing him had reason to fear for his own safety.
But the report raised questions about what happened in the moments after the March 31, 2025, shooting, which left Best, who was Black, bleeding and with serious internal injuries.
The first ambulance called to take Best to the hospital arrived at the scene at 6:02 p.m., 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, according to the report.
Paramedics reported that Perrotta refused treatment in the ambulance.
“I’m fine, I just needed to get out of here,” he 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,” according to the report.
The second ambulance arrived at the scene around 6:12 p.m. Hospital records say Best was taken for treatment at 6:22 p.m., approximately 14 minutes after Perrotta arrived at the hospital, according to the report. He died at 7:41 p.m. while receiving treatment for the gunshot wound that damaged his liver and right kidney.
The report by Eliot Prescott, Connecticut’s inspector general, does 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 the report’s revelations have angered and saddened family and friends. They believe he might have survived if the first ambulance had taken him to the hospital.
“Honestly, it’s heartbreaking to hear 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 Bridgeport police spokeswoman, Shawnna White, declined to comment Wednesday when asked if Perrotta had taken the first ambulance. He said in an email that the police department’s internal affairs division would conduct its own investigation.
Perrotta is currently on administrative leave due to an unrelated matter, which White did not disclose.
Phone and email messages were left Wednesday for Perrotta, Mayor Joe Ganim’s office, Prescott’s office, the city’s police union and Darnell Crosland, an attorney for Best’s family.
The incident that led to Best being shot began when someone called 911 to report a fight involving about 30 people, including some who had guns.
