Officer Robert Fumiatti posed with Major after their graduation from the State Police Canine Training Unit in Meriden in April 2004. Mara Lavitt/Register

NEW HAVEN — Officer Robert Fumiatti inspired colleagues and community members with his unrelenting determination to return to the police force after he nearly died when he was shot in the face during a 2002 drug raid. But that inspiration turned to despair Wednesday when Fumiatti, 35, an eight-year veteran and father of three, died overnight of an apparent heart attack.

"Just about three years ago, on Jan. 26, 2004, a lot of us witnessed a miracle. That was the day Officer Rob Fumiatti returned to work, narcotics division, New Haven Police Department in the service of the people of the city of New Haven," said Mayor John DeStefano Jr. "That miracle, an amazing, terrific, incredible demonstration of determination and character that characterized Rob Fumiatti’s service to the city, as a son, as a husband, as a father, ended tragically last night."

City officials are calling on New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington to file a capital felony murder charge against the man who shot Fumiatti. Arnold Bell is serving a 45-year sentence in state prison on assault and gun charges stemming from the incident.

Bell shot Fumiatti June 13, 2002, as officers jumped out of an unmarked van during a raid. The bullet entered Fumiatti’s cheek, ricocheted off a back tooth, ripped through his esophagus and lodged near his spine. The bullet, which was never removed, caused partial paralysis to his arm.

After surgery, doctors fitted him with a metal halo to keep his head immobile as he healed, and Fumiatti, the son of a retired New Haven detective, embarked on a painful recovery, intent on returning to the job.

After 18 months of extensive rehabilitation, he came back to work on January 2004 as a narcotics dog handler.

He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered several setbacks that put him on leave for awhile. His most recent assignment was with the department’s gun unit.

Fumiatti frequently went into the community and talked about his story in high schools, colleges and with dozens of ex-convicts through the TimeZup program, a joint venture with local and federal law enforcement aimed at reducing recidivism.

"He actually put together a PowerPoint presentation. He would show victims of homicides and shootings," said Police Chief Francisco Ortiz, who called Fumiatti his "moral compass" in many ways. "He would talk about his own personal experiences, and then he would talk to people about, ‘You know, you don’t want to end up this way. This is no way to live, the way I’m living. This is no way to end up, the way people on the street were ending up.’"

At work, Fumiatti would compile files on "the worst of the worst" suspects wanted on gun charges, and distribute pictures to officers at roll call.

At the same time, he exhibited a capacity for forgiveness when he attended the sentencing of the Milford man who traded the gun, later used to shoot Fumiatti, for narcotics in 2001.

In October 2006, Fumiatti came to court planning to ask for jail time for Michael Rice, but changed his mind after Rice asked to speak to him privately and apologized.

"When I came here today, I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna ask for jail time because of what I suffered through.’ But the man is sincere in his apology. Probation is fine with me, your honor," he told the judge at the time. "I have a bullet in my neck, and I have a pacemaker to keep my heart going. But he was man enough to stand up (and apologize). He’s got kids."

After almost two years of soul searching, co-workers said, Fumiatti planned to retire on a disability pension. Sgt. Louis G. Cavalier, the union president, said Fumiatti struggled with the idea of leaving the profession he loved, but was frustrated by the limitations his injuries placed on him. Only recently, he made peace with the decision and was negotiating a pension package with the city,

Firefighter Department Paramedic Franklin Quicksey sometimes saw the frustration.

"He’d always get down. I’d say, ‘Rob, I saw you at your worst. You weren’t breathing. Here you are now. You have a son. You might not be a 100 percent, but you’re pretty close. You’ve got to keep thinking about that.’"

He had never met Fumiatti until he helped save his life the night Fumiatti was shot. Quicksey was in the department ambulance and worked Fumiatti, who was in cardiac arrest, until they reached the hospital.

They’ve kept in contact since, and he went to the hospital when the Police Department called him at home Wednesday at 1:30 a.m.

Fumiatti, a hockey star at West Haven High in the 1980s, worked as a volunteer Amity hockey coach.

"He made an immediate impact. This is a devastating loss for us. He’s a great human being that stood for so many things," said close friend and Amity hockey coach Gary Lindgren.

Fumiatti attended a scrimmage between Amity and Notre Dame of West Haven Tuesday evening and appeared in good health.

"He was with us on the bench and he looked great. He was happy and energetic," Lindgren said. "This is so difficult to make sense of."

Fumiatti was a captain on the West Haven High hockey team that won the state championship in 1988.

"Rob will always be a West Haven Blue Devil, but part of his heart belongs to Amity as well," Lindgren said.

At the Police Department Wednesday, officers shared fond memories, and officials from New Haven and West Haven paid tribute to the fallen officer. Fumiatti’s father, Vin, who retired in 1994 as a detective, and his brother, Michael Fumiatti, attended, but didn’t speak.

Sgt. Kevin Costin recalled Fumiatti as an upbeat prankster who on Tuesday found a dancing elf program on the Internet, imposed Costin’s face on it and threatened to blast it out by e-mail Wednesday.

"I’ll get you tomorrow, Sgt. Costin," he told the sergeant.

Fumiatti’s wake will be at the West Haven Funeral Home from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday. He will be buried Saturday.

"At the end of the day, what we’re left with are examples of courage, character and determination. More than anything else, that is what Officer Fumiatti leaves with us," said DeStefano.

West Haven Mayor John M. Picard concurred.

"He was a Westie. He just epitomized everything you wanted to be. He worked hard, (was) fair, honest, full of integrity. From what he came back from, to come back to work ...," said Picard. "All he wanted to do was come into work, work hard and hopefully prevent these things from happening again."

Register reporter Brian McCready contributed to this report.