Pa. police detective wounded in line of duty calls State of the Union “awesome” experience

It also was a moment of triumph for a man recovering from a near-fatal attack.

• By Roger DuPuis/WVIA

Kyle Gilmartin smiled broadly when asked how he felt after attending Thursday night’s State of the Union address.

“It was awesome. I got to meet some really great people from all around the country and got some new perspectives on things,” said Gilmartin, a Scranton Police Detective who is recovering from being shot in the head two months ago while on duty.

It also was a moment of triumph for a man recovering from a near-fatal attack.

Gilmartin, 34, was in the U.S. Capitol to hear President Joe Biden’s speech as the guest of U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Lackawanna County Democrat whose district includes Scranton.

The detective was critically wounded Jan. 11 in a “gang-related” shooting in West Scranton, was discharged from a Philadelphia-area rehab hospital last Friday.

‘God was looking out for me’

In an exclusive interview prior to the speech, Gilmartin acknowledged he is blessed to be alive.

“I took two bullets to the head. There’s no medical explanation for it. There’s no logical explanation for it,” Gilmartin said of his survival during a conversation in Cartwright’s office.

“The only explanation I have is that, you know, it just wasn’t my time. And God was looking out for me that night,” he added.

Gilmartin and wife Lindsay met with the congressman and WVIA in Cartwright’s office prior to a private dinner ahead of the speech. He spoke lovingly and with gratitude of the support that people from around the region have shown him and his family since the shooting, from fundraisers to the warm welcome he was given at a homecoming outside SPD headquarters last Friday.

“I just think it’s a testament to the type of people that we have in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Any time there’s a tragedy or anytime there’s somebody down, everybody works together to lift us back up,” Gilmartin said.

“Without the community support. I don’t think I’d be where I am today, because I’m progressing quite rapidly in my rehabilitation,” added Gilmartin.

Gilmartin wears a protective helmet and said he still doesn’t have any movement in his left arm or hand, and walks with a cane. But he walks – and at times, runs.

“The week before last I ran on the treadmill for about 10 minutes, and if you asked me when I was in the ICU if I’d be running within a month or within five weeks of being shot in the head, I would think you’re crazy,” Gilmartin said.

“But the medical staff, my surgeons literally saved my life and they’re bringing me back to where I was prior to the incident,” he added.

He hopes to eventually return to work, but it’s not clear if or when that may be possible.

Gilmartin, who joined SPD in 2015, is a Luzerne County native who grew up in the Pittston area. A 2008 graduate of Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre, he graduated from the Lackawanna College Police Academy in 2010. Gilmartin previously worked as a police officer in Ashley, Wilkes-Barre Township and Pittston Township.

The shooting

State police charged Aiden Deininger, 20, of Old Forge, with trying to kill Gilmartin, Detective Sgt. Joseph Lafferty and Detective Jason Hyler, who were on a stakeout in a police car in West Scranton.

Deininger fired into the car five times at close range. Two bullets hit Gilmartin in the head. Police fired back and struck Deininger, who was hospitalized for several days. He’s in the Lackawanna County Prison, held without bail.

Deininger is also accused of firing into a home at 330-332 Prospect Ave. in Scranton where a family lived.

The events that led to the shooting began with a break-in into a car just before midnight Jan. 10. The car was parked at a convenience store on Boulevard Avenue in Scranton.

Deininger is charged with breaking into the car and using a credit card to buy $42 worth of goods at another convenience store three blocks away.

He is charged with attempted homicide, attempted murder of police officers in the first degree, aggravated assault, carrying a gun without a license, firing a gun into an occupied structure, criminal use of a cell phone, recklessly endangering another person, assault of law enforcement officers, theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a credit card.

Police have also charged Jeremiah Cleveland, 19, of Mayfield, with a role in the events leading up to the shooting.

Cleveland is accused of firing a gun into 330-332 Prospect Ave. and near a home at 410 Harrison Ave. in Scranton.

He is charged with carrying a gun without a license, firing a gun into an occupied structure, criminal use of a cell phone and recklessly endangering another person.

The preliminary hearings for both were scheduled for Wednesday, but were postponed. No new date is set.

Gilmartin does have some memories of the incident.

“The first thing I remember after being shot was my partners yelling ‘officer down’ over the radio and then pulling me out of the car and get me into a back of a patrol car” to be taken to Geisinger CMC, he said.

He reflected on the shooting and society briefly Thursday evening, saying that everyone – especially young people – need to “hold each other accountable,” using positive peer pressure to prevent others from engaging in dangerous or violent behavior.

“You know, if you’re friends with somebody, you should be telling them, ‘hey, maybe you shouldn’t do that. That’s not the smartest idea,’” he said.

‘Good exercise’

Lindsay Gilmartin watched the speech on TV from Cartwright’s office while her husband was down the street in the Capitol. A nurse, she admitted to some nervous moments while her husband was out of sight and out of reach without his phone during the speech.

When he walked back into the office, Gilmartin sought to ease his wife’s concerns.

“It was a lot of sitting, a lot of standing. It was a good exercise,” he said with a smile.

And, Gilmartin added, he had been sitting next to a doctor from Connecticut.

It wasn’t the only notable encounter with a stranger: After the speech, Gilmartin and Cartwright rode an elevator with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but she was on a phone call at the time.

On a lighter note, Cartwright spoke about his interaction with another GOP lawmaker.

“Kyle and I rode down the elevator with a congressman from a Republican area and he was complaining about the President’s speech. And I got off and I introduced him to Kyle. And I said, ‘look, take it easy on the president. We all talk like that in Scranton,’” Cartwright said.

The congressman had visited Gilmartin when he was undergoing rehab and extended the invitation to attend the speech.

“Kyle’s story is a story not only of the grit and determination that he has shown in getting better, but also about our whole community, the way we come together,” Cartwright said.

While Biden did not mention Gilmartin in his speech, Lindsay Gilmartin said the president has called twice since her husband was shot, and was grateful for his concern, which felt genuine and personal.

Like her husband, she was appreciative of the opportunity to be part of the historic occasion.

“The whole thing was an honor, for Kyle and myself.”

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WVIA News reporters Borys Krawczeniuk and Kat Bolus contributed to this report.