The San Diego police sergeant who was seriously wounded in a 4S Ranch-area shootout earlier this month was airlifted Thursday morning to an out-of-state medical facility for specialized treatment, officials said.
Video sent to NBC 7 by the San Diego Police Department shows Sgt. Anthony Elliott, the six-year member of SDPD, being escorted from Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla to San Diego International Airport in a procession.
"Elliott continues to recover from the serious gunshot injury he sustained on Dec. 7," Lt. Adam Sharki with the San Diego Police Department said in a press release Thursday.
The department did not specify where Elliott was being taken to or for how long he would be out of state.
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Elliott had been receiving medical attention at the La Jolla hospital ever since he was shot in the head during a confrontation with a suspect, who was fatally shot in the 4S Ranch shopping center parking lot.
"Sgt. Elliott faces a challenging path to recovery, and we look forward to the day he can return to San Diego," SDPD said in a post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. "The support and expert care the Scripps Memorial team provided have been invaluable during this time, and we extend our deepest gratitude to them."
The sergeant had been released from the Intensive Care Unit but was expected to remain hospitalized for a while longer, San Diego police Chief David Nisleit told NBC 7 on Tuesday.
"[Elliott] still has a long road to recovery, but he's doing well," Nisleit said. "He's alert, he's conscious, he's talking. His wife has been by his side. She's an amazing woman. And there's no doubt that he'll continue to progress and recover."
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Elliott suffered a gunshot wound to the head on Dec. 7 in the exchange of gunfire at a strip mall west of Interstate 15 and just north of Camino Del Norte, according to the San Diego Police Officers Association.
Elliott was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Curtis Harris of San Diego allegedly opened fire on police after they tried to contact him at 4S Commons Town Center. Three officers returned fire, mortally wounding Harris, according to the county Sheriff's Department, which investigates uses of lethal force on the part of SDPD personnel.
Harris, 46, died at a trauma center.
The events that led to the deadly exchange of gunfire began about 10 p.m., when police began searching for Harris, the subject of an unserved restraining order, as well as a suspect in a vehicle theft and a domestic-abuse case, sheriff's Lt. Joseph Jarjura said.
Roughly 90 minutes later, officers found the allegedly stolen vehicle parked at the northeastern San Diego shopping center.
"Officers developed a plan to serve the suspect with the [court order]," Jarjura said. "The suspect was inside [a] Ralphs store. Some officers attempted to contact him, but he ran out of the store. Other officers were outside of the store and in the parking lot."
Upon exiting the supermarket, the suspect started shooting at police, drawing the fusillade of return fire that killed him, according to Jarjura.
The names of the officers were released. The officers have been identified as Officer Tanarat Crowe (approximately 1 year of service), Officer Darrion Talalele (approximately 10 months) and Officer Trevor Wright (approximately 1.5 years). They all work in the Northwestern Division.
