Kenny Chesney mentions Folcroft officer during Philadelphia concert, mistakenly tells crowd he died
FOLCROFT, Pa. -- Country music superstar Kenny Chesney says he was caught up in the moment during his Philadelphia concert Saturday night when he mistakenly told the crowd that a Folcroft police officer who was shot seven times had died.
"I was so caught up in the moment," Chesney said in a statement released Sunday morning, "I think the emotions got the best of me - and I wasn't as clear as I could've been."
Folcroft Police Officer Christopher Dorman had two things on his mind when recording a video from his hospital bed: the emergency personnel who saved him and Kenny Chesney.
"I'd like to thank all the police, paramedics and doctors and hey Kenny, don't forget me," Dorman said in the video released exclusively to Action News Saturday morning.
The 25-year-old police officer was planning to attend the Kenny Chesney concert later that night at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia, but instead spent it continuing to recover from his injuries sustained in Friday morning's shooting.
It turned out, however, Chesney heard about Dorman and made a point to acknowledge him during his performance.
But in video obtained by Action News, the country superstar mistakenly told the crowd that Dorman passed away.
"Before we get going with the rest of the show, last night, a Philadelphia police officer was shot seven times. In the hospital on his bed...he passed away, but before he passed away he made a video that he wanted to come tonight so bad, and he said, 'Kenny, please don't forget me,'" Chesney said.
Officer Dorman, however, did not pass away. He remains in guarded condition, according to his father.
Many took to social media with calls for Chesney to correct the mistake, including the Folcroft Police Department.
"@kennychesney just said that officer Dorman passed away...THAT IS FALSE. HE IS ALIVE AND WELL!!," the department tweeted.
They followed up with another tweet asking Chesney to "Make this right."
On Sunday morning, Kenny Chesney and his management team released a statement on the concert and Officer Dorman.
The statement says Chesney received word about Officer Dorman's video as he was dressing for the show and "it fired the East Tennessee songwriter/entertainer up to a whole other other level."
Hitting the stage just after 9, the 8-time Entertainer of the Year paused after "I Go Back," a song that captures the power of songs to hold life's special moments in amber, and said to the crowd, "I didn't know where in the show I was going to do this... But there's a line in this song that says, 'When I hear, 'Only the good die young, it still stops me in my tracks...,' and I heard that an officer here in Philadelphia who was shot seven times last night - from his hospital bed, he made a video that said, 'Kenny, don't forget about me.' Well, Christopher Dorman, we won't forget you..."
The statement goes on to say the crowd roared when Chesney said the officer's name.
For them, the story was personal - and the fact that Chesney knew - and lifted this moment to honor the police officer prompted an insane response. If the internet blew up at what seemed to be his comment suggesting the officer had passed, he finished the song he was singing, the plaintive "Anything But Mine," about yearning for a summer love past, and offered, "Christopher Dorman, wherever you are, this is for you..."
"The idea that a hero like that, with seven bullets in him, would even think about me... I heard about it right before I hit the stage, and it stopped me in my tracks. Someone whose life was on the line, and after all that bravery? As anyone in the stadium knows, I kept pausing, trying to collect my thoughts," Chesney said.
Chesney says Philadelphia has always been a place with loud fans and crazy tailgating. He says he and his band "have the time of our lives every year."
"And when I heard the cheer they sent up when I sent our best to Officer Dorman, man, everything I've ever thought about the people of Philadelphia was confirmed," Chesney said.
The country singer closed the statement by saying, "There are moments that it feels so damn good to be alive. Tonight in Philadelphia was absolutely one of them. To honor a policeman who survived something so horrific, to be rocked so hard by all those people, to see a city so alive, that's everything about why we do this! To Philadelphia, you have a lot of heart - and it was an honor to rock with you tonight and honor one of your own!"
The Folcroft Police Department says Chesney called Dorman personally to apologize and wish him the best.
Officer Dorman was injured Friday morning on the 1500 block of Elmwood Street
Authorities say Dorman was dispatched to the location for a report of a man possibly dealing drugs.
Dorman arrived on the scene and confronted Donte Brooks Island, aka Abdul Wahi, police say. There was a struggle and Island allegedly drew his weapon and shot Dorman seven times.
Dorman was hit once in the face, four times in the chest, once in the groin and once in the leg.
He was flown by helicopter to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Island was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and related offenses.
