[StoneColdGOP]

Officer, Enrique Hernandez, 27, Las Vegas Police Department
Shot and critically injured on December 12, 2002

Officer Hernandez was conducting a routine traffic stop when Saul Garcia-Morales, aka Javier Durate Chavez fled the scene on foot after a brief vehicle pursuit. Officer Hernandez chased Garcia-Morales into a nearby apartment where Garcia opened fire hitting Hernandez six times. Officer Hernandez was shot in the forearm, chest, hand, side and calf with bullets entering his neck and back. He had been on the force for three months but relied on his extensive survival and tactical training during eight years in the marines to summon the clear thinking and courage that kept him alive. Officer Hernandez was hospitalized for 12 days in critical condition and was unconscious for six of those days. He fought to remain conscious long enough to describe the suspect and the circumstances surrounding the shooting. When he awoke from his coma, doctors told him they were surprised he survived. As of the date of this update, Officer Hernandez has returned to light duty after five surgeries. Although he hopes to return to full duty in the future, he continues to battle significant medical limitations.

Garcia, who had been convicted of auto burglary in 1997 and deported several times between 1998 and 2002, was killed by Las Vegas SWAT officers in the ensuing gun battle. He had just attempted an armed robbery and believed that Officer Hernandez had been summoned by that victim.

[StoneColdGOP]

Officer Robert Sitek, Phoenix Police Department
Shot and critically injured, April 12, 2003

On April 12, 2003, Officer Sitek and his partner attempted a traffic stop on the driver of a red truck who cut off the patrol vehicle. The driver had just committed an armed car- jacking. When the officers stopped, the driver began shooting, hitting Officer Sitek four times in his abdomen, leg and hand. Officer Sitek was in cardiac arrest when responding paramedics arrived. He was revived, rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery and coded in the emergency room. Officer Sitek was brought back to life and as of June 3, 2003 had pulled out of his three week coma, is breathing on his own and has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. He is still unable to walk.

The shooter, Francisco A. Gallardo, was a Mexican citizen who had recently completed a seven-year prison term for aggravated assault. He had been deported after his release but had returned. Gallardo was shot and killed by Officer Sitek’s partner as he attempted to escape.