March 13, 2026
TRIGGER WARNING: Black Man Shot By Police in Connecticut Died After Officer With ‘Mild Anxiety Attack’ Took First Ambulance
Dyshan Best's family is demanding answers after learning he waited 10 minutes for an ambulance after an officer with a “mild anxiety attack” took the first one.
Police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, are facing backlash after newly released reports revealed that a Black man shot by officers who later died had to wait an additional 10 minutes for an ambulance because an officer experiencing a “mild anxiety attack” took the first one that arrived at the scene.
Dyshan Best, 39, was shot in the back by Officer Yoon Heo in March 2025 while fleeing from officers, The Guardian reported. A report released on March 9 by the state’s inspector general concluded the shooting was justified because Best was holding a gun, and Heo feared for his safety.
Controversy has centered on what happened afterward. The first ambulance dispatched to take Best to the hospital arrived at 6:02 p.m., about 14 minutes after the March 31 shooting. But at the urging of other officers, that ambulance transported a white officer, Erin Perrotta, who had taken part in the foot chase and was experiencing what was described as a “mild anxiety attack.”
Paramedics later reported that Perrotta declined treatment while inside the ambulance. (Note: the video below contains violent content.)
“I’m fine, I just needed to get out of here,” Perrota said, according to the report.
Another officer described Perrotta at the time as “visibly hysterical, crying and breathing rapidly, with blood all over her uniform,” the report noted.
A second ambulance arrived around 6:12 p.m. Hospital records show Best was admitted for treatment at 6:22 p.m., about 14 minutes after Perrotta arrived at the hospital, the report states. He died at 7:41 p.m. while being treated for a gunshot wound that had damaged his liver and right kidney. The report from Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott did not determine whether the delay in waiting for a second ambulance contributed to Best’s death.
On March 10, department spokesperson Shawnna White confirmed that Perrotta has been placed on administrative leave. White also said the March 31, 2025, incident surrounding the death of Best will now be reviewed by the city’s internal affairs office following the conclusion of the state inspector general’s nearly yearlong independent investigation.
“The report and all of the information from the IG’s office is being transmitted and sent over to the city,” White said.
The city did not release further details, including how long Perrotta has been off duty or the specific reasons for the review.
The report’s findings have angered Best’s family. His niece, Tatiana Barrett, told reporters they believe he might have survived if he had been transported to the hospital in the first ambulance.
“Honestly, it’s heartbreaking hearing 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.”
White reportedly declined to comment on Perrotta taking the first ambulance, saying in an email that the police department’s internal affairs division will conduct its own investigation.
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