Ridley Park police officer returns home after being shot

ByTrish Hartman WPVI logo
Monday, August 31, 2015
VIDEO: Ridley Park officer returns home
A Delaware County police officer is home from the hospital after being shot at an apartment complex.

NORWOOD, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Delaware County police officer is home from the hospital after being shot at an apartment complex.

Showing his wounds on the front lawn of a family member's home, 45-year-old Ridley Park Police Officer Marc Hanly is amazed.

The 14-year-veteran of the force and married father of two was shot twice, once in the chest and once in the leg.

His bullet proof vest caught the bullet to the chest.

"Thank God for the vest," Hanly asid.

The other bullet while hitting his leg, missed vital organs and his bone.

"To get hit twice and 12 hours later to be able to stand here, someone was looking out for me," Hanly said.

Police identify the shooting suspect as Darrel Burt.

The call came out just after 1:00 a.m. Sunday for a suicidal man inside a Norwood apartment complex in the 600 block of Mohawk.

Hanly and his partner tried talking to the suspect.

"The subject after a few minutes opened the door and the officers tried to get in at which time the subject shut the door and shot through the door," Norwood Police Chief Mark Delvecchio said.

The SWAT team moved in.

Hanly's fellow officers pulled him out of harm's way and into an ambulance.

He was rushed to Crozer Chester Medical Center.

Police evacuated the complex while authorities say Burt remained armed inside.

"After I heard the glass shatter, I came back into the living room, then I saw the flashing lights and came out here," neighbor Fran Wilkin aid.

The standoff ended with Burt shot in the elbow and in custody.

Action News was in Glenolden before noon Sunday as Burt was transferred to a holding cell after he was treated for the minor injury.

Hanly was released from the hospital just after noon Sunday.

Officer Hanly is known for his commitment to service. He is a lifetime member of the Collingdale Fire Department where he serves as a chief.

He says he is shaken, but plans to go back to work as soon as possible - with his vest.

"It was scary. It's something we are always told could happen at any time," Hanly said.

Bail for Burt was set at $500,000.