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On
June 29th 2006 my life changed forever. I was
working as a F.T.O. with training Officer Doug
Stanek on the
10:00 p.m.- 06:00 a.m.
shift when my life took a turn for the worst.
We were in-route
to the Olive Branch Police station when we came upon a
car stopped in the road way. We turned on the patrol car
blue lights and ran the tag. The vehicle did not come
back as stolen so Officer Stanek
approached the driver. This is where my life changed.
The driver shot
Officer Stanek once in the
chest as he approached the vehicle. I heard the shot and
Doug cry out as I was exiting the Patrol Car when I saw
the driver exiting his car. The driver exited shooting,
I was immediately struck in the upper chest and I
stumbled away from my car. I was then struck again in my
side and I fell to the ground, I remember then calling
to our dispatch and telling them.,
"Shots fired Officer Down, Dispatch get a helicopter in
route A.S.A.P. I remember little after this only
different officers yelling to me to hang on and lifting
off in the helicopter.
When I awoke in
the Hospital a couple of days later I was paralyzed from
the chest down. Some of my first words were get in
touch with P.B.A.
P.B.A immediately
appointed James Holland from
Horn
Lake,
Mississippi who has been an invaluable help
to my family. Also my P.B.A. representative, Tommy
Simpson has been there when I needed him. If I didn't
have P.B.A., I would have had to pay untold thousands of
dollars to hire the legal help that I needed. My
attorney and Mr. Simpson have made sure that I was taken
care and my rights and my job were intact. As of this
date I still am in rehab but I am better everyday. I
will have a job when I return and P.B.A will still be
there for me. If I had only one thing to say to every
officer new and veteran is this, if you don't have P.B.A.
join now without delay. In today's world where officers
have to worry about lawsuits or work for an agency that
finds it easier to turn against an officer instead of
backing them, P.B.A will be there for them as they were
for me. I am lucky to have an agency that has been very
supportive of me but I know many officers that have not
been so lucky. My future is uncertain but with P.B.A.
behind me I rest much easier.
Officer
Mark
Ayers
Shepherd
Center
Atlanta,
Ga.
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