I wouldn't read too much into an apparent absence of visible wounds in the front.

It's reported that:
- he was shot in the back
- twice

But we don't know if there were any exit wounds.
We don't know at what angle the projectiles entered.
We don't know the ballistics data:
- 9mm
- .40 S&W
- 10mm
- other

The pics I've seen of the Troopers had them all in rubber gloves.
This may only be because they knew he was emitting bodily fluid.
But it may also be because they deliberately took him alive, and administered preliminary First Aid until the paramedics arrived.

---------------

Regarding tree-line proximity, the pics displayed here, and the precise timeline publicized do not explain:
- total time of engagement, from talk to fire
- distance from road to tree-line
- total distance escapee traveled between initial questioning and being downed by fire
- the range of each shot
- the firing position of the officer
- the flight path of the target: a target moving directly toward or away is much easier to hit than one moving either
- perpendicular to the line of fire, or
- serpentine.

Though apparently an experienced outdoorsman, I'm guessing Sweat was not running at long range, serpentine. It's just too tough a shot to make twice.
However:
it's reported he was shot twice. They didn't report how many shots were fired. If the trooper emptied three 15 round clips, it's a different story.

If this account is true, it should clear up the amount of shots fired....

"" Sweat fled, and Cook chased him, firing twice,
fearing he would lose the fugitive in the trees,
officials said. Photos appeared to show
emergency crews tending to Sweat as he sat
bloodied in a field. Sweat is now in stable
condition..."
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/trooper-had-law-his-side-when-he-shot-unarmed-escapee-n383981

Lack of exit wound, if true, means, to me anyway, that the rounds were fired from some distance. Ill admit though, I dont know the caliber used or the type of round but Im guessing some hollow point variant. Its a little odd that someone shot twice in the back is recovering so quickly....not in a conspiracy kinda way, mind you.....more like, Sweat is one lucky S.O.B.

That's what I thought too; from the photo where's his shirt is off and they've got the Oxygen bag on him...both wounds appear very close to this sternum --- AMAZING he was even able to speak!
Lungs/heart/major arteries ---

GEEEZE that's all within danger zone for major damage! But KUDO's to Deputy Cook and his hand gun ability;

WELL DONE MISTER

Yes RA. That's what I thought 3.
I suspect NY State Police may generally carry hollow-points rather than ball-ammo.

I don't know what to make of the bleeding chest. But I wouldn't exclude the possibility it's from a wound / injury not cause by a bullet.

Let's not forget, these guys were on the run for 3 weeks.
I don't know if you've ever had to stumble around in the woods, in the dark, with both dogs and COPs in pursuit. But picking up a booboo along the way one might want Mommy to kiss can't be ruled out.

Looks like a blood-stain on the left thigh of his trousers. I assume that's drippage from the chest, but possibly not. Could be a puncture wound from a stick, etc.
We've got some nasties around here. Not just brambles, but hawthorn trees, and even some bugs that might give him trouble.

RA,
Do you know anything about the officer's firing position?
- running?
- walking?
- standing?
- kneeling?
- prone?
- One hand / two hand?

A laser site might help, but I rather doubt that in this case.

Also:
Were the ones that caught Matt not Troopers, but Rangers?

I'm wondering whether that's merely different levels of training / competence; or these guys settled between them that one would live, and one would die.

I suspect the authorities that have been suspended are unhappy that Sweat is alive and singin', and the responsible authorities that want to clean this up are delighted.

That prison not only needs new management. It needs new procedures. Cell rotation might easily have prevented this escape.

& Why not a few motion detectors in those core / utility channels? Such detectors are dirt cheap. I use them for home security. They're fine, and even work remotely.

Again - the conflicting reports.

And also the photos... not trusting the photos.

Even the ones 2OLD posted... it looks TOO staged to me.

The tree line.
Cops in gloves
The med bag
The blood spots that tell me nothing.


His clothes, where he was shot on the body, his location of where he was spotted.

I'm waiting

No sir, I dont. I dont even know the type of weapon the officer used. For all I know, it cld have been a shotgun with buckshot....past forty or so yards may explain not much penetration by a cpla pellets....again though, its all conjecture at this point.
The blood on his chest really means nothing to me...transfer of fluids happens easily. It doesnt look like an exit wound to me but I am on a phone atm.
As for the rubber gloves....standard operating procedure. If I were there, Id wear them regardless of whether he was shot or not......he had to be filthy and probably stank like a mofo


Edit: Video in this link....

http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,20933908,00.html

......says two to the chest. If so, he's lucky to still be wasting our oxygen.

Seems like we've all noticed it RA.
S2 called it what it is: "conflicting reports."

You obviously know a lot about guns, terminal ballistics, etc.

S2's right. Here's one 2A posted:

This isn't the only place I read it was a sidearm.

You make a very sharp point.
If those are exit wounds (reportedly shot in the back), I'd be astounded he survived.
But I'm an amateur at that. I don't know whether they're exit wounds or not.

I appreciate your skepticism S2.

But let's make a distinction here:

The "conflicting reports" you cite I don't dispute.
The question is why.
I suspect the reason is; we're playing telephone.

The on-scene officer reports to their patrol sup.
The supervisor hands of to his next in command, and up the chain it goes.
Those guys are pros. They do this all the time. So I suspect they're fairly accurate.

BUT !!

Then there are press briefings.
The press liaison tries to make a coherent picture from the puzzle pieces he's fed one at a time.

His information goes to reporters most of whom lack the technical expertise to understand this stuff. So they make mistakes.

BUT !!

I extremely doubt the NY State Police would PhotoShop forensic documentation; PARTICULARLY in a case like this.
I surely hope there's no other police case this year that gets as much attention as this one.
And I assume it will get an IG investigation.

So I trust the pics.

One other thing S2:
I'm a life-long New Yorker.
In the past decade, I don't recall seeing NY State Troopers in anything smaller than a Crown Vic; that's their econo-box.
Usually I see them in these huge Suburbans.

And guess what:
State Police Suburban SUVs seem to me to ride lower than other Suburbans.
I don't know why that would be; except that I'm guessing they're simply crammed with so much gear, a Crown Vic can't carry it all.

And these guys cover so many traffic collisions, etc; I'm sure if they have that much gear, they'd quite likely have the stuff seen in the pics.

PS
If you're wondering about the proximity to the tree-line;
perhaps that's because the Trooper was better rested, and more lightly outfitted, and so was able to close on his target, thus not shooting from the road, but closed on him to get a better shot, closing until the suspect was 40' from the tree-line, and then double-tapped him.

I personally don't see any obvious conflicts here; just unanswered questions.

1.)All patrol service vehicles are equipped with the 'MEDICAL BAG' seen in the photo; inside you'll find surgical gloves/the emergency oxygen bag that was placed over his face while waiting for the paramedics/ambulance!
2.)Given how many man-hours/lost time with family members and just the shear adrenaline that would be expected from the officers on the scene --- anyone and everyone that has a 'CELL PHONE' would be catching their own memory making moment on their phones!
3.)as in this photo;


there is a wide variety of vehicles utilized in this man-hunt: vans/SUV's/Suburban's/Crown Vics/P Up trucks/off road 4 wheelers/horses/dogs/flat bed trucks/helicopters --- a plethora of vehicles from all the departments involved.

Yes.
I know.
My comment was confined to what I see around here.

Our Forest Rangers tend to drive big HD pickup trucks. One stopped by one Summer while I was out by the road, just to say hello. After a 5 minute chat he he drove away, but his truck was so heavy it left tire imprints on the pavement. Most vehicles don't do that.

No law enforcement entity has routine patrols out here.

If we need law enforcement assistance, we've got to phone it in; either:
- Forest Ranger, or
- State Police
- Sheriff's Deputy
- Codes Enforcement
- Dog Catcher (yup! We've got one, a very good one!)

But the Troopers I see around here, responding to incidents are usually in large cars, or Suburbans, though I know and have seen they have other vehicles too.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/02/new-york-prison-where-2-killers-escaped-gets-new-superintendent-increased/

New York prison where 2 killers escaped gets new superintendent, increased security
Published July 02, 2015 Associated Press



ALBANY, N.Y. A new superintendent has been named at the maximum-security prison where two inmates escaped last month, and new security measures have been put in place.

Thirty-year correction veteran Michael Kirkpatrick will be the new superintendent of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. He replaces Steven Racette, who was placed on paid leave Tuesday along with two of his deputies and nine other staff members, including guards, after an internal review of how convicted killers David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped June 6.

The department says new security measures include stepped-up searches of inmates' cells, staffing changes to ensure bed checks are more effective and installation of security gates in the facility's tunnels.

Matt was shot dead Friday after a three-week manhunt. Sweat was shot and captured on Sunday.

Thanks C7.

"Superintendent"?

Is that a rank higher than a "warden", lower than a warden, or the role of a warden?

I was wondering the exact same thing. If ' warden & superintendent' are the same thing, then why is the media suddenly useing word play.? They had no problem saying 'Warden' for two weeks prior.

Well S2, let's step back.

This escape from an ostensible high security prison has embarrassed New York prison officials.

It seems the prison brass is in a mad scramble to scatter some fairy dust on it; so they don't look like what they are.

Some very simple security / procedural policy changes could have prevented this.

And it's not merely the embarrassment of allowing two convicted murderers mingle among the tax-paying population.

It's the over a $million $dollar per $day cost of the fuster-cluck they squandered searching for these guys.

Within a few hours, NY spokesman was saying -they could be anywhere-; instead of looking for them within the reasonable range they likely could have reached on foot.

Obviously they want to throw somebody under the bus in a hurry; to get the heat off them.

But in such cases, it's not merely who they nail; it's who they don't nail.
If the superintendent is not the warden; then WTF are they doing about the warden?!

This whole thing has been bungled since before the start.
These are reportedly not cell-mates, but prisoners from adjacent, separate cells.
And early reports indicate Sweat says they were at it for months, timing it so the steam pipes they were to crawl through would not have steam in them (ie, the Summer months; this escape didn't happen in February).

I'm skeptical about early reports on such things.
I'll wait until the dust settles a bit.
But so far, there are some serious unanswered questions.

--------------------------------------------------------
LT,
You said it all
Since the very beginning, we heard in the Media & from the prison " they could be anywhere" even the Canada thing. And we ran through all that speculation in the beginning of the case & the thread.
It was weird... no trace of them, no tracking, no evidence of location. THEY didn't want these guys found ALIVE & now we know why.
I'm waiting and hoping for heads to roll on this. But I doubt it will have even a small fraction of the media's attention. But it will certainly have mine. A criminal is criminal is a criminal . I don't care what clothes he is wearing or who his friends are.

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/crime/prison-worker-gave-escaped-inmates-contraband-2-years-article-1.2280609/

NY Daily News
Crime

Prison worker gave escaped inmates contraband for 2 years

MEG WAGNER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Today, 1:43 PM ET

Clinton Correctional Facility Correction Officer Gene Palmer said he smuggled goods to killers Richard Matt and David Sweat for two years, including a package of frozen meat that contained hacksaw blades.

Clinton Correctional Facility Correction Officer Gene Palmer said he smuggled goods to killers Richard Matt and David Sweat for two years, including a package of frozen meat that contained hacksaw blades.
The grooming of the two prison workers accused of helping two inmates escape began two years ago — with a simple paintbrush.

Gene Palmer, a guard at the Clinton Correctional Facility, was lulled into complicity by upstate prisoners David Sweat and Richard Matt — who ran a classic long con to gain their freedom.

The initial requests were innocuous — Matt, a convicted killer with an artistic side, wanted some brushes and tubes of white paint, Palmer told cops, according to documents obtained by the Press-Republican.

Police stand over escaped prisoner David Sweat after he was shot and captured near the Canadian border on Sunday, June 28, 2015, in Constable, New York. Sweat is the second of two convicted murderers who staged a brazen escape three weeks ago from a maximum-security prison in northern New York. His capture came two days after his escape partner, Richard Matt, was shot and killed by authorities.
Manhunt for escaped convicts end


Palmer, a veteran corrections officer, went to a store in Plattsburgh and bought the supplies on two occasions, the convicted killer told police.

But as the inmates built up a relationship with Palmer over several months, the requests changed. Sweat started asking for tools and Palmer gave them to him. He supplied Sweat with needle-nose pliers and a flat-head screwdriver four times in the past eight months — and let the inmate rewire the electrical boxes on the catwalk, he said.

Richard Matt (r.) was shot and killed on June 26. David Sweat (l.) was captured alive two days later.
The two broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6.
MARK LENNIHAN/AP
The two broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6.
Palmer did not say if he knew the blades were in the meat when he delivered it to Matt.
KEN MALDONADO
Palmer did not say if he knew the blades were in the meat when he delivered it to Matt.
"Inmate Matt had asked me (to give Sweat access) and I was doing him a favor,” Palmer told investigators.

Palmer’s last smuggled package came from Joyce Mitchell, 51, the other prison worker Matt and Sweat allegedly charmed into helping them. It contained hacksaws hidden in ground beef, and Palmer handed it to the prisoners on May 30.


David Sweat Says He Never Had Sex With Prison Worker
NY Daily News

mwagner@nydailynews.com

5 minutes ago , David Sweat, returns to maximum security prison

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/prison-escapee-david-sweat-returns-max-security-prison-first-time-n386941/