On March 31, 2014, a Wilson Memorial Hospital employee became violent, seemingly having a psychotic episode. Unfortunately, it all happened in the middle of the hospital shift change in a busy area.

Stopping A Shooter

The first officer on the scene was Patrolman David Smith. The employee had military training and was able to take Smith's gun and shoot him. Smith died instantly from the shot to the head.

Patrolman Louis Cioci arrived at the scene just as Smith was killed. Cioci told the hospital employee to drop the gun, but he chose to fire at Cioci instead.

Cioci found cover. He had to wait for an opportunity to fire back, so he would not injure any bystanders. When he finally got the shot, he did not waste it.

Cioci shot ten rounds from 30 yards away, and six of them hit the assailant in the torso, legs, and face. Cioci did not have any backup but attempted to take the gun away from the injured man.

However, the assailant continued to fight Cioci, and he had to shoot twice more. Finally, Cioci was able to get handcuffs on him. The assailant died in the operating room from his injuries.

Reconciling The Incident

According to Johnson City Police Chief Brent Dodge, Cioci's "saved many innocent New Yorkers that morning," especially since he wanted to fire back at the assailant until bystanders were clear. However, in an interview with the media, Cioci said that he still has difficulty reconciling the events from the incident. He added that he misses his shift partner Officer Smith.

For his bravery, Officer Cioci was named New York State's Police Officer of the Year. He was presented with the award on September 1, 2015, in Johnson City.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul was present to give him the award. He was then presented with the Medal of Valor in a ceremony by President Barack Obama.