{"id":84620,"date":"2025-12-16T01:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T01:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/84620\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T01:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T01:05:09","slug":"florida-sergeant-moved-to-rehab-following-successful-surgeries-for-gunshot-wounds-to-face-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/84620\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida sergeant moved to rehab following successful surgeries for gunshot wounds to face"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 After a series of intensive surgeries, the police sergeant shot in the face twice<\/a> has now been transferred to a rehabilitation facility to begin the next phase of his recovery.<\/p>\n

The Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) announced on Monday that, through remarkable progress in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit<\/a>, Sergeant Erik LeVasseur is on the road to recovery. <\/p>\n

On December 1, Sgt. LeVasseur and other officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in the Town Park community of Tradition. PSLPD said at around 6:08 p.m., suspect Frankie Salvatore Riccio, 32, emerged from a garage, wielding an AK47\u2013style rifle, firing multiple rounds at approaching officers. Sgt. LeVasseur was struck twice in the face \u2014 once next to his nose and again below it. Officers returned fire, shooting 62 rounds. Riccio was killed at the scene. <\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE – On December 1, Sgt. Levasseur and other officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in the Town Park community of Tradition. PSLPD said at around 6:08 p.m., suspect Frankie Salvatore Riccio, 32, emerged from a garage, wielding an AK\u201147\u2013style rifle, firing multiple rounds at approaching officers. Sgt. Levasseur was struck twice in the face \u2014 once next to his nose and again below it. Officers returned fire, shooting 62 rounds. Riccio was killed at the scene. (PSLPD | LinkedIn){ }<\/p>\n

LeVasseur was rushed to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where police said he underwent multiple critical procedures<\/a>. His jaw was wired shut, and surgeons performed a tracheostomy to secure his airway. Eye specialists removed<\/a> shrapnel lodged in his retina, and on December 9, they successfully removed additional bullet fragments that were deeper than initially expected. Notably, medical staff confirmed he did not suffer brain damage. <\/p>\n

As of December 11, Sgt. LeVasseur was awake, alert, and in stable condition. While he currently has no vision due to extensive facial and ocular trauma, doctors remain hopeful that future reconstructive and eye surgeries could improve his long-term outlook.<\/p>\n

See also: ‘Congress has failed’: Parkland survivor endures second shooting at Brown, demands action<\/a><\/p>\n

Police Chief Leo Niemczyk said, \u201cHe\u2019s a very strong man with a very strong will, and we\u2019re confident that he\u2019s going to make a strong recovery we feel he\u2019s out of the woods.”<\/p>\n

On December 15, the Port St. Lucie Police Department announced Sgt. LeVasseur’s transfer to a confidential rehabilitation facility. The department emphasized that the medical team deemed the move appropriate for his continued healing and that privacy remains a priority. <\/p>\n

Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter <\/a>to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel <\/a>for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 After a series of intensive surgeries, the police sergeant shot in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-84620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}