i've dedicated my life to public service, both as a police officer and as an emt. i've always pushed myself to go "that extra mile" when dealing with the public, the people that did pay my salary. treating every person the way i would want to be treated. i responded to each call i was given as if it was a member of my family in jeopardy.
the end of my police career came as a result of that way of doing things. when i responded to a domestic disturbance where a woman was beaten by her husband, i could have done the status quo and taken the report and left.
all to often i have seen reports in the media of the husband returning to the scene and killing the woman. so i moved my police car a few blocks away and waited for this guy to come out of the woods, where he had fled to when a neighbor yelled at him he had called 911 and the police were on their way.
in making that arrest, i nearly died. i suffered a heart attack and have been diagnosed as having post traumatic stress disorder. i am currently 100% disabled. i will never be able to return to my lifes work. in my life i tried to make a difference.
the county i worked for is self-insured. the medical bills alone are in the six figure range. paying for my claim would nearly bankrupt them, so they are contesting it. delay after delay. the incident happened 10-14-01 and i am still trudging thru the court system. i lost my car, my house and nearly my life. suicide seemed an option more times than i can count. i will fight on, its all i know how to do.
if the media devoted some space to cops like myself, it might mean we loose less of the good officers who see what happens to cops like me and go to work in another line of work, society suffers. if the public only knew.......