Lieutenant Paul Joseph was the highest ranking officer on the scene on Feller. That day, half of the city was under his responsibility, along with all the officers in it. He responded to the call at Feller and arrived 7 minutes before Anthony was killed by Officers Santos and Vizzusi. As part of his duty and protocol, as soon as he arrived at scene he started assessing the situation. He was evaluating what resources were already there and what else needed to be done to ensure the safety of everyone. He mentions that he was considering bringing in more resources because a crowd was gathering on the street and wanted to have containment of the situation. When asked by the city attorney whether or not he knew that there were rifles at the scene, Lt. Joseph avoids the question and only says that he knew that Officer Santos was there and that Officer Dalaison was establishing communication. His objective: "a peaceful resolution."
As he is assessing the situation and resources available, Lt. Joseph says he hears one gunshot. When he hears the shot, he moves towards Santos and asks him, "Are you all right?" indicating that he didn't know that it was Santos who had shot at Anthony. On the stand, Lt. Joseph only referred to Anthony as "the suspect" or the "suspect with gun", not the victim that needed medical aid. After the shooting, he then went over to Dalaison on the other side of Feller to try and take "the suspect" into custody. This is where he learns that Vizzusi also fired. The next steps were to: get suspect into custody, secure the house, and lastly call the paramedics. Calling for medical help was the last thing that was on the lieutenant's mind despite it being the first request from Anthony's young cousin, Juan.