Michigan police officers carried a man critically wounded in a shooting about 100 yards to an ambulance earlier this month while gunfire could still be heard and hostile crowds prevented the emergency vehicle from reaching the victim.

The incident happened just after 1:30 a.m. July 5 when Grand Rapids police responded to a shooting involving multiple victims, the department stated in a news release. As officers tried to help a man with life-threatening injuries, crowd members refused to get out of the way to let an ambulance through.

"Pepper Ball was deployed in an attempt to back up the crowd, which helped, but wasn’t enough for the ambulance to get through," the department stated.

With gunfire still being heard in the area, officers carried the victim around 100 yards in order to reach medics. As they carried him, they continued to keep pressure on his wounds. 

Body camera footage captured the officers' efforts as they worked to get the victim to an ambulance.

“It’s frustrating,” Chief Joe Trigg said in a statement. “They can’t give their full attention to the critically wounded man without additional officers to help with crowd control. There is still active gunfire in the area, so they don’t know if there are more victims out there. All they know is that every second counts for this man.”

The officers were able to reach medics, who rushed the man to the hospital. According to police, hospital personnel said the officers' actions likely saved him from arterial bleeding.

“I am very proud of the way our team operated, made quick decisions, worked together, and did everything they could do to save this man’s life," Trigg said.

"We often talk about how safe communities need everyone to work together, and there were a few people who were helping rather than hindering. … Those efforts are appreciated. But I can’t think of a more basic example of community-centered public safety than letting first responders, including police, tend to a critically injured person without interference," he added.