A Palm Springs police officer who was wounded during a deadly gun battle last year, but stayed at the shooting scene so he could help rescue officers who were in worse condition, was publicly identified for the first time during court testimony on Friday.

Officer Jeffrey Burton was shot in the hip and the calf after a gunman opened fire at police on his doorstep, striking Burton and two other officers on Oct. 8, 2016. Despite his wounds, Burton ran to his patrol car, retrieved his rifle and then laid down cover fire so other cops could attempt to rescue the other wounded.

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The other officers who were hit, Lesley Zerebny and Jose ‘Gil’ Vega, both died from their injuries.

In the fourteen months since the shooting, much of the public spotlight has been understandably focused on these fallen cops, and Burton’s role as the wounded-yet-surviving officer has been largely forgotten. He has declined interview requests and his name has been left unpublished at the request of the Palm Springs police department.

But all that changed on Friday, when several Riverside County homicide investigators testified to Burton’s gun battle heroics during a court hearing for John Hernandez Felix, the suspected shooter.

“In spite of being shot, does Officer Burton continue to engage with the defendant?” asked Deputy District Attorney Michelle Paradise during the hearing.

“Yes,” said Alberto Loureiro, one of the shooting’s lead investigators.

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Loureiro said Burton first helped provide cover fire to protect another officer, Shawn Flinn, got pinned down behind his patrol car.

After that, Burton provided cover fire again while officers grabbed Vega, dragged him to a patrol car and drove him to an ambulance down the street.

Finally, Loureiro testified that Burton led the effort to recover Zerebny, providing cover fire a third time while other officers drove a patrol car onto a neighboring lawn, then dragged Zerebny from the scene.

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Burton was eventually relieved by SWAT officers, who surrounded the house and captured Felix after a lengthy standoff. Burton walked down the street to meet medics, who took him to the hospital so his bullet wounds could be treated.

Burton returned to work for Palm Springs police in the weeks or months after the shooting.

Reporter Brett Kelman can be reached at 760 778 4642 or by email at brett.kelman@desertsun.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @TDSbrettkelman.