Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement
#075- "Shot in the Face" with Crystal Sepulveda Part 2
Join us for Part 2 of Crystal Sepulveda's incredible journey into law enforcement. Crystal, a Missouri City police officer, shares her powerful story of how the tragic loss of her father as a child ignited her passion for justice. Gain insight into the tense moments as Crystal recounts being shot in the face during a high-stakes police pursuit and her journey to recovery, emphasizing the crucial role of camaraderie in law enforcement.
#TMPA #lawenforcement #MissouriCity #OfficerDown
email us at- bluegrit@tmpa.org
Join us for Part 2 of Crystal Sepulveda's incredible journey into law enforcement. Crystal, a Missouri City police officer, shares her powerful story of how the tragic loss of her father as a child ignited her passion for justice. Gain insight into the tense moments as Crystal recounts being shot in the face during a high-stakes police pursuit and her journey to recovery, emphasizing the crucial role of camaraderie in law enforcement.
#TMPA #lawenforcement #MissouriCity #OfficerDown
email us at- bluegrit@tmpa.org
We begin tonight with a Missouri City Police officer in stable condition after she was shot in the face following a pursuit rather earlier this morning.
Speaker 2:The door opens and I feel like 30 pair of hands just grab me, like everybody just grabbed me. They carried me in, slapped me on like what felt like a slab table, right metal slab table.
Speaker 3:On the last episode of the Blue Grit Podcast.
Speaker 2:And then another vehicle had came, so there was multiple people. So there was just two of them, multiple of them, so they didn't want to make contact this yet. Okay. Well, me and Landry were on our way. That turned into it. The car bolts out. So the car bolts out and one of the officers that were there she goes right behind it. So I pop you, landry pops you, and the pursuant sees right.
Speaker 2:So at some point through the pursuit we end up in a residential area. And I remember that because Landry is saying, yeah, I can hear her, I'm kind of keeping up. But at this point I know we just hit this residential area. You either know it or you know somebody around here. Like I already know that the foot pursuit is now going to come out of this. I already know it's coming. Well, when I round that corner I see that it's pulled into a driveway and I'm like this is where I'm thinking, this is where he lives, right. So I pull up, I'm thinking he's already out. Nope, he had just. He had just gotten out of the car. Well, then he falls.
Speaker 2:I get excited because there was like this joke with me and landry is like I'm gonna run to run, like I'm going to be right next to you, kind of I'm not a fast runner, but I'm going to be there, like if you're running, I'm going to be either right next to you or right behind you, but I'm coming with you, right. And I want to say I'm probably standing in that backyard five seconds, six seconds, and then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom gun. I never saw his hands, I never saw his face, I never saw his clothes, I never saw anything other than his silhouette when he was climbing that fence on the other side. And what's crazy is that I never heard the gun, because what we're assuming. But then he jumps down and he jumps into like this pocket of blackness, like darkness. I can't see anything.
Speaker 2:And I want to say I'm probably standing in that backyard five seconds, six seconds, and then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I never saw a gun, I never saw his hands, I never saw his face, I never saw his clothes, I never saw anything other than his silhouette when he was climbing that fence on the other side. And what's crazy is that I never heard the gun, because what we're assuming and this is us just taking a guess is that the first shot probably is the one that hit me here in the face because I had to watch my video and say, oh wow, like he shot at me a lot. I didn't realize I was shot until I got to the hospital. I was bleeding profusely, so rewind.
Speaker 1:So he jumped on the other side of the fence.
Speaker 2:He never made it. He jumped back down. And he jumped back down into, like this pocket of. Shadow Gotcha he couldn't see anything, and as soon as he jumped down, that's what he did and how far away from you when this took place 10, not even 15.
Speaker 2:I mean we were not this close, but we were. I mean, if he was a little bit further than that wall, like we were pretty close, but I didn't see anything because he just jumped down into the darkness, right. And so I remember specifically like going down, I remember, and I was looking at this watch right here, I was going straight into my watch, like it just boom. Well then in my head it's processing all just simultaneously, right, just keeps going. So I remember getting back up, like, and so I'm looking at my watch again but it's like this ringing is in my ear and everything sounds muffled. So I could hear.
Speaker 2:So I had my radio and I'm like the radio on the mic right here. I could hear that there were voices coming through it, but it almost sounded as if my radio was like on the other side of the gate, like it just sounded so far away muffled. If you close your ears it sounded like that. So who knows what they were saying? I couldn't tell you what they were saying. I couldn't make it out. I could just hear the dispatcher's voice and that's it.
Speaker 1:I can make out her voice and you don't think or know your shot absolutely not, no.
Speaker 2:But as I come up, I'm just like bleeding, I think like showerhead. I'm just like blood is just like blood's everywhere. I'm like what? And I'm thinking like what the hell? And I was like connect with your body. Connect with your body, like did you cut yourself on that gate, like. And I'm trying to see where I'm hurt. I can't feel anything. I feel absolutely nothing. And so then I'm trying to get up with my left leg, just trying to get my, and I keep slipping and falling. And it's not because of the blood, it's just I can't catch my footing, like my foot is not sticking to the ground and I'm like what's going on? I can't get up, so I get on the radio. I'm like please help me.
Speaker 2:Like I'm because, I'm trying to get up and I confirmed with the video. It took about 20 seconds after that for landry to find me, because what happened is we got to that backyard so quick. Landry hadn't even parked yet, so he didn't see what backyard I went into.
Speaker 2:And so the last thing that they heard before the shots were fired is that he's coming back around the front of the house. So Landry is thinking they're at the front of the house somewhere. So he starts and you know, I saw his video and it's crazy. His video is a little crazier than mine, and I saw his video and it's crazy. His video is a little crazier than mine and I think it's because I'm seeing it from his perspective, right, but he's like scanning, he's looking, he's trying to find me and he can't. He's screaming nine 13, nine 13, where are you? Nothing. And so he just starts.
Speaker 2:He tells me, like you know, later on I just started from square one, like I had to calm myself down, down, regroup my thoughts and like, start with my like basic training, start at the beginning. He's like so I went back to the car, I checked the car and then that's. And then so he said he rounded that corner and that's where he saw me. And I was trying to crawl to the back, to the side of the gate where I had come in from, and I remember I could see his light like kind of going up and down and whatnot, and then I saw his silhouette and like the relief that I got, like in that moment I knew like he found me, I'm good, like I'm good, and so he gets over and I'm wearing my outer vest, so he's like trying to get me up and I can't, I cannot stand up.
Speaker 2:Well, he's thinking we don't know if this is like a setup, right, so we talked after, and so this is why I'm saying this is what he's thinking. He's thinking what if this was a setup? What if this was a set of ambush? What if there's more people back here? I haven't cleared it.
Speaker 2:I can't find the shooter, like I don't know they brought you to that house exactly so he's trying to get to me but also, and so he is to me, but he's also like still trying to look. So he's trying to drag me. Well, he's dragging me and I remember it's like rubbing on the back of my head and it's just, it was like the most sore feeling, like worst shoulder workout you can imagine, plus your neck. I mean it was bad. I was like stop, what did I say? Stop dragging me. And he just kept dragging me. Well, he can't get. He's like I'm going to throw over the fence. And I remember just plopping on the other side of the gate.
Speaker 4:He picked me up and threw me over, right.
Speaker 2:Well, then we get on that side and he picks me up again, throws me over his shoulder and I remember my radio was not in the holster, it was just dangling and I was like Landry, my radio, my radio. He goes. Man, fuck that radio, he was so mad, right, he was so mad, right. So then the other officer that had been at the gas station finally pulls up after he got some information from the other car that was there, right. So he throws me in the back of the car. Another officer gets in with me and we take off to the hospital. Again, I have no idea I'm shot, no idea. I know that I'm probably still bleeding because, officer that I'm with she's saying like you're bleeding a lot, you're bleeding a lot, she starts taking off my vest. She's, I guess she's trying to see where else I was hit. And I just remember like it was. It was like the calmest ride, even though it wasn't for anybody else, for me. It just I didn't feel the bumps, I didn't the chaos, like everything, just kind of calmed down.
Speaker 2:You're thinking you're just injured, like you fell and got injured yeah, I never yeah, I never think about like she got shot because I never heard a gunshot, I never heard it, and so then uh and you can see at both eyes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can see out of both eyes I can see. So I'm at one point. So then I'm laying down. So she has me laying down like across her lap and I'm just like looking up at the cage, looking out like kind of the window, and I can see all like the street lights and whatnot. I can hear the commotion.
Speaker 2:So the driver, his phone I couldn't tell you where it was, apparently it had fallen under the seat somewhere, but he's just trying to get the hell out of there. Well, her phone, what did she say? I think her phone had just died or something like that had happened. Or her phone was still in her unit but she was no longer at her car. She was now in this other car. And then my phone I kept it in my vest here. Well, nobody ever asked me for my phone. I was like I would have just gave you all my phone, right. So of course and I'm not processing this at that time I'm just laying there hospital. He's like I don't know where to go. So then dispatch is able to like see us on the avl on the computer so they can see where our body is with our body camera and where our car is with the car tracker so they're guiding him all the way to the trauma center.
Speaker 2:I couldn't tell you how long that was, because at some points the officer that was with me in the back she's like crystal, stay awake, stay awake. And I'm like I'm awake. She's like stay, stay awake. And she was shaking me to wake up. So I don't know if I was going in and out in my head. I never did. And so then I just remember, like she kept saying that I was getting frustrated. I was like stop shaking me, stop waking, like stop.
Speaker 2:And then I probably said at that time I didn't have my youngest son, I only had he had just turned four two days prior to that, right, so I had my four-year-old and I remember just saying just stay awake for Jojo, stay awake for Jojo.
Speaker 2:And that's what kept me awake the whole time, like I just I probably said it like two million times, no joke, like I just said it until I got to the hospital. Well then we get there and I think that like HPD had blocked off some streets and we had gotten into, I guess, wherever the trauma center is, so that we could just straight shot through. We get to the hospital, the door opens and I feel like 30 pair of hands just grab me, like everybody just grabbed me. They carry me in, they slapped me on like what felt like a slab table, right metal slab table, and I could hear the nurses like there's a lot of people in there and I could just hear a lot of chatter and then she's like gunshot wound to the face. I was like what, who, what, and so then they sit me up. I'm sorry they sit me up.
Speaker 2:And I can hear that their like exit wound is behind the ear and I was like what? And then they pull out a razor, what is it called?
Speaker 4:Is it a razor, a shaver?
Speaker 2:Right, so you just hear the buzz, like the buzzing of it, and I was like don't cut too much off. So then they start laughing, right, so they just go in and they start shaving this chunk back here.
Speaker 1:After that I'm laying on the table again.
Speaker 2:What was it like hearing? Oh shit, I got shot. I was just like I said. I was in this really weird calm phase. I knew I was okay because I was alert. I knew I was with the doctors and the nurses. I didn't feel like panicked. I at no point did I feel like I was gonna die. I just felt like what, like I got shot. So I'm laying there and the female officer that's with me is kind of sitting where like over here where this camera is, and she's like what do I do? What do I do? And I was like call my sister and call my boyfriend. And so I guess she had gotten my phone from, like when they took off my vest and whatnot. And so she, uh, I could hear her because this is the good side. So now I'm legally deaf.
Speaker 2:In this one they had to close my ear. It blew out into a billion trillion pieces so I couldn't hear out out of this ear. I can hear her on this side and she calls my sister and she's like hey, and of course it's the worst opening hey, is this so-and-so? And she's like, yeah, and the officer she goes this is Officer Blank with Missouri City Police Department, and it's just like the way she came off on my phone to my sister. I can't imagine that call at three o'clock in the morning, right. And so she tells her and it's not this sister, it's my other sister, because that sister would.
Speaker 2:So I have like my oldest sister, that's like the mama bear, she protects us all, she, you know, takes care of us, keeps us in line. And then I had the middle sister where she's just like she's gonna put you in your place and she's gonna tell you how, how it's gonna go. You're in charge, but she's gonna tell you how, in your place, and she's going to tell you how, how it's going to go. You're in charge, but she's going to tell you how it's going to go, right. So I was like just call her, because she'll let everybody that needs to know know and she'll facilitate it calmly. My other sister probably wouldn't have been so calm, right? So, um, she gives her that call. Well, after that, my fiance now, but boyfriend then, and she goes hey, this is officer so-and-so. Uh, crystal's been shot. And he told me later the conversation. But he's like what?
Speaker 2:and mind you he had just got off the phone with me, like an hour before. He was kind of had been drinking and whatnot, and he was like wait, wait, wait. So she says, yeah, she was shot in the face. He goes she was shot in the face and she's talking to you. So it's not making sense to him in his head. He's in Miami. So now he's trying to figure out a way to get back over here, right?
Speaker 1:So, um, yeah, shot in the face and they're talking to me right now.
Speaker 2:I don't usually go together and then she asks me Crystal, uh, how are you feeling he goes? Are you talking to her right now? So he's just in disbelief that I'm even having a conversation while I'm shouting the goddamn thing.
Speaker 2:So then I after that, once I knew that she had called my sister and him, it's like my body just relaxed. It could have also been that they were sticking me with a whole bunch of stuff. I have no idea, because, again, I never felt anything. I think I woke up at one point and I could feel them tugging over here on my eyebrow and here on my face. They were giving me stitches and I could just feel like the tugging of it. So I'm pretty sure they hit me with something, I just don't know what, and then I would wake up and go back down, wake up and go back down. And then later on that's when I found out I was shot in the leg, because they said that my leg kept bleeding, but they couldn't figure out why.
Speaker 1:And that's why you couldn't get up.
Speaker 2:But then I was also shot in the big toe, which is why I couldn't get up which we find out later.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so then I had this ear that's now out ringing, and then I had the other side with the shot calf and a shot toe, so it all makes sense and if people don't realize your big toe, how much leverage to walk your balance um injured big toe is, it will screw up your ability of balance. Walk to stride is it screws you up.
Speaker 2:And then they say the same thing with like your hearing. So, then I had the imbalance here and the imbalance here. So, I was trying to figure that out, so hit three times.
Speaker 1:I think there was a fourth. Didn't he hit my radio? I think he to figure that out. So hit three times.
Speaker 2:I think there was a fourth. Didn't he hit my radio? I think he had hit my radio.
Speaker 4:I'm not sure about that. I know the radio got drugged from the scene to the hospital so that was on a video trying to figure out what happened to the radio.
Speaker 2:Because it was like tore up right. They said that it was just like in shambles.
Speaker 1:Got closed in the door, I guess, and then drugged to the other end. Yeah, drug.
Speaker 4:So yeah, just kind of go back on that. You know, loading that up in the car, loading her up in the car, became a training issue. We wound up bringing in Life Flight. So Houston is lucky and you know we have Life Flight. So kind of you know lessons learned If you're going to load an officer, a fallen officer, into a car, know where the hospital is. So our dispatchers literally had to provide directions to the officers.
Speaker 3:So Were y'all in most city when it took place.
Speaker 4:No, it was in the city of Houston, it was just right outside. So Missouri city borders the city of Houston, kind of pretty much on two sides, and then we border Sugarland and Stafford on the other ends. But yeah, so it was in the city of Houston, it was HPD's jurisdiction. But yeah, I mean it was just a training, a training opportunity to bring in lifeline and say, hey, I mean it was just a training, a training opportunity to bring in lifeline and say, hey, you know, if you have somebody you know injured, you know, let's secure the scene, find a you know a secure landing zone and let's bring the burden, like let's bring somebody that's going to be able to provide medical assistance immediately. So, you know, just a training opportunity. Did they do anything wrong? No, I mean, we all know if you see a fellow officer falling and you want to help them immediately, and what's the best way? Get them to the hospital, right.
Speaker 1:Load and go.
Speaker 4:Load and go. So, yeah, I mean just that opportunity to do that training with our officers, identifying that, hey, let's slow it down, just like she mentioned on Landry, slowing it down and going back. That's kind of what we did with our officers and we brought in Memorial Hermann Life Flight and kind of worked through hey, in the event, this is what you would do. So I just wanted to add that, as you know, a training opportunity that was identified in this.
Speaker 3:It was a lot of training opportunities identified, but so at the point that she was in the hospital. Uh, you were involved with the tactical situation or where the hostage the hostage team where is the? Suspect, or how is the suspect uh, perimeter? How did that look from your perspective from the working? Yeah, so I was.
Speaker 4:I was actually off, I believe. I believe I was still assigned to CID at the time. I can't remember. I might've been in administration, I can't remember. Okay, I was already an admin, so I wasn't involved.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so we were in.
Speaker 4:I was, you know, snug as a bug in a rug in the house, you know. But actually I got a phone call in the middle of the night from Jesus Estrada with Sugar Land PD.
Speaker 4:Great guy, yeah, so he was the president of the Sugar Land Police Officers Association. He called me and said, hey, you know, I know it's late and y'all just had an officer get shot. I was like, well, what would you say? And he's like, yeah, y'all just had an officer get shot. I said what do you know? He's like I'm on my way to the scene. So he was on duty that night. But he called me because he knew I was involved in the association. So he called me and said, hey, you know, I'm going to, I'm. I said hey, unfortunately I wasn't able to respond.
Speaker 4:My, my wife was out of town at the time, but I was able to quickly mobilize and and get assistance to our officers to crystal fairly quickly. So we were able to provide, you know, spending money for her family because they were going to be at the hospital. We provided them a hotel so they didn't have to travel back and forth. So we got them a hotel down in the medical center. So really, that's, you know, an important reason of why you want to be part of your local association I know I hit on it when I was here last time is getting involved in that local, because when things go bad or things.
Speaker 4:You know you need assistance. That's the stopgap right there. Right, I mean TMPA, that's what we do, but there's also a gap in between and that's where that local comes in. So, like Leighton Gennari showed up at the hospital, you know, the Region 2 director called me hey, how's your officer? What do y'all need, you know. So we were TMPA, was on the spot, but ultimately that local association was able to step in and address that immediate need for the family, for Crystal. You know. Setting up, you know, and working with the department to set up, you know who can come, when can they come. We had designated an officer directly to her and her family. So all of that was done at the local level.
Speaker 3:You being on the street for two years, being an officer for two years. Not just like I didn't come from a law enforcement family. Clint's come from like three or four generations of law enforcement. I think his great great grandfather and Stephen F Austin were like riding buddies, waking up after being shot in the face, shot in the leg, shot in the big toe and injured severely, seeing as Justin Ellis would describe it when he had his critical incident, seeing the sea of blue and seeing the overwhelming support the law enforcement of just not they're there for you but just like Jay said, they're they're providing, you know, hotels for your family because they know that you need your family there with you.
Speaker 3:What, what's going through your mind at that point in time of knowing of some cause I know what's happening your family's reporting to you like, oh my God, crystal, we wouldn't believe. And so they're reporting to you in those closed door moments with you, of telling you all about Holy shit, you wouldn't believe that the Houston officer that bought my lunch or that you know those interactions. So kind of explain that.
Speaker 2:So from what I gathered is that I, while I was in the hospital, there were so many restaurants, so many companies that were just catering to everybody. That was just there, apparently and I don't know this because I was in the room, right, but there was like a lot of officers. They had it booked out at like a conference room loaded with officers everywhere. People were coming in bringing food for everyone and my sisters and everybody were laughing at me because every time like a nurse would come in, like one of my nurses, I'd be like, have you eaten? No, they had food, like go get some food, like go, you know. And they were like you're worried about everybody else, and you know and I'm like no, yeah like everybody's here, we're all doing this together, like go get some food, but it was.
Speaker 2:I've never really liked being like the center of attention, like that, right. So it's just like fuck, like because of something like this, this it's in, you know, and I go back and forth with certain people about like this, but like it it wasn't. Like I ran into a burning building and like saved like kids and families, like like I, I did. I did what I signed up to do. We all knew, like putting on this uniform and getting in the car and showing up to work, the things that could possibly happen.
Speaker 2:The problem is is that you never think it's going to happen to you, but you still show up and you're still going to perform and you're still going to do what you need to do, right. So I was just like, but I just did what. I was like what I've always done. I would have done this in any scenario, you know, and so it's just like. But then it's like well, so-and-so had to have pre-authorization to like come in, because then there was like random people that wanted to just come in. My sisters overheard people talking that you know they obviously don't know the field and whatnot, but like they were trying to get pictures with me and it was just they were like nope, nope, cause they also know how I am and obviously in a situation like that, where now I have a gunshot wound in the face and I'm all tore up looking, you want to take pictures of me right now, like no.
Speaker 2:So they shut it down. They were like no one. Unless we have given preauthorization, nobody can go in there, and that's how they had it yes, I I didn't recognize this.
Speaker 3:I was working a case in east texas where a family had lost um a child to a drowning, and it amazed me to find this out after the fact. But people will um take advantage of such shitty situations and I'm sure y'all seen it. I I hadn't been exposed to this until then, but they had tried to exploit the family and to try to calm them into paying some money, and so I'm pretty sure we're probably going to see that at some point with some of our members that have suffered this type of injury. Yeah, I mean, it happened in this situation.
Speaker 4:I mean, you know, our association quickly set up a Help, a Hero, I remember that yeah.
Speaker 4:And it was actually. This incident occurred shortly before a conference of 21 in San Antonio. So we were able to, you know, provide the information about the help a hero to our membership across the state of Texas. Hey, this is an. I actually got on stage and talked about the incident a little bit and said, hey, anything can help, you know, help a hero. But then we had people setting up GoFundMes that were fraudulent and we had a church, a local church, a really strong supporter of the police in Missouri City, donate to a fraudulent campaign for her and when contacted they were like, oh well, we didn't realize it. You know it had her picture and like, no, that's not official, you know. So now they're unfortunately out, you know, whatever money they donated. But yeah, I mean people are going to take advantage and you know it's unfortunate, but I mean it's just a reality.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Crystal, if we can back up a minute. You see him drop into the dark and the shots are fired. You realize something happened, you're not sure what Are you aware? Do you know where he went at that point?
Speaker 2:No, and that's actually crazy. You brought that up because I would say after the incident, like post incident, things have settled, calm down, I would say within the last year. That's the only thing. It's not a haunting, it's that what if? What if, what is? That's the only thing I constantly think about. Is that, what if? Like, like, I think in his head and this is me just thinking that if I hadn't gone down initially, he would have thought I was still alive, or if I would have not gone unconscious, that he would have been like well, she's still alive and he would have came back and he could have popped more rounds into me. I think that me going down and staying down because I went unconscious immediately is kind of what saved me in that moment, because then he just takes off After he's done unloading his clip or however he shot at me quite a bit, he takes off running.
Speaker 1:And you only know. You went unconscious, I guess because of body camera, Because of my body camera, do you? Know for how long you were there.
Speaker 2:I would say like when I estimated it it wasn't even 20 seconds. I mean it was a pretty good time.
Speaker 3:Good time, though, with the injury that you had.
Speaker 1:And it was, it was enough time to make him leave Correct.
Speaker 2:It wasn't enough to make him think like she's not dead. Let me go back and get her, because I was back there by myself at that time. Landry was still looking, he was scanning for me, he was going to every house and that's honestly one of the things that bothers me the most is thinking like dang, he could have came back because I never realized I was shot. I just know that when I came up I was just bleeding like a lot and I was like what is all this blood? Like where is it coming from? I couldn't tell you where it was coming from. I had no idea.
Speaker 1:How long did you spend in the hospital?
Speaker 2:I was there for 10 days. They kept. They kept me there a little longer than I wanted to because they wanted to do the physical therapy, making sure that I could walk and I was making laps around like the, I guess, the floor area, um, but just to make sure that I was okay physically to like just walk up and down like a set of stairs but you act like that's a long time, I'm thinking yeah, I and stay 10 days I'm like.
Speaker 1:Jesus Christ, I thought you were going to say 10 months.
Speaker 4:Yeah, me too. She hadn't even gotten a permanent room. She's asking what time can I leave? When am I getting out of here? God?
Speaker 3:that's insane.
Speaker 1:How long were you off work total.
Speaker 2:Actually I'm just now getting back. I started in February of this this year part-time. My doctor released me to just kind of go and get my feet wet. That's how the pd wanted to handle it too like just come back, get settled, see if this is still something that you're okay with doing. And then I just got signed off last week to now return full-time, oh wow so part-time, what have you been doing like duty or patrol?
Speaker 2:no, they won't let me. Well, just because I'm not fully cleared, I wasn't able to touch a car, touch a gun, wear my uniform, nothing like that. I kind of came back like think a civilian and they just gave me some busy work, like just do a little bit of this, catch up on your classes, stuff like that, Just taking it easy.
Speaker 4:So I retired, and then they put her in my office.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:So I'm actively in his old. I think you could take jay's spot. Pretty 100, I like he's got the right attitude. So, speaking of the, I'll just call it what he is uh, the piece of shit that shots you, what?
Speaker 1:whatever happened to him he fled that night, fled the backyard. Then what happened?
Speaker 2:he did, and stop me if I mess up on some information. This is just like from what I know. So he takes off and landry is ready to go. Right, he's got another officer with him. He's ready to go. Well, the sergeant comes over. He's like just stop. Like I'm on my way, like just wait oh, to start a track oh yeah, he was ready.
Speaker 2:He was ready to get the dog and just go um and so I couldn't. I know that eventually hpd rolls up like whole herd of them, like all of hpD shows up. Fortman County is out there. We had a state trooper, some state troopers out there. I mean it was a whole bunch of us. So they start. Did he Help me think of the word?
Speaker 3:What is his name? The airplane, the helicopter?
Speaker 2:Yes, fox, thank you. So they had Fox come out. What?
Speaker 4:is that it's HPD's helicopter unit. They call it Fox.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they had him come out and there was, I guess, some tracking being done where Fox was able to see, okay, there's somebody here, but they're with a dog or there's somebody here. So they eventually get around to, I think, the neighborhood behind where it had happened. Is that correct to, I think, the neighborhood behind where it had?
Speaker 4:happened. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:I think so. So HPD has two dogs out. Landry is told to stay back. Right, yeah, landry is told to stay back. Landry cannot go. So HPD is out there. Two dogs, a trooper is out there, some county guys are out, the Fort Bend County guys are out there. So this video is actually on YouTube. Hpd released it from that date.
Speaker 2:So one of the dogs goes up to the side gate, front of the house, side gate right. He goes to. It, is there for a few seconds and then they start walking again, right? Well, then the dog stops, turns back around and goes back to the house and then I think he alerts. He alerts his handler, however he alerted. I couldn think he alerts. He alerts his handler, however he alerted. I couldn't tell you how, but the handler was like okay, let's go. So when he opens up the gate, the dog shoots off. Well, the guy, it just darts in. The guy starts shooting at the dog. So that's how they know like okay, this is the backyard, so all the guys go in, he's still shooting at them. They exchange gunfire and he ends up going down. Luckily the dog was never harmed. None of the officers were harmed, anything like that. I couldn't tell you. He died on scene, but I know that at the hospital he was pronounced.
Speaker 1:Oh sweet, so he's DRT, yeah, oh, good, okay.
Speaker 2:Funny, right, he was a 19-year-old guy. Oh wow, yeah, the coincidence on that.
Speaker 3:Wow yeah, just a random ag robbery suspect. Obviously, because of the flock hit Right, was he one of Kim Ogg's projects of being out on bond.
Speaker 2:I think he was.
Speaker 4:Wasn't he? He may have been, I can't recall. I want to say that they mentioned something like that.
Speaker 2:More he may have been, I can't recall. I want to say that they mentioned something like that More than likely. And then he had a passenger. This whole time I didn't know, he had a passenger with him in that car. I found this out later. And then he had told his passenger something along the lines was that he was going to kill us. So it didn't matter if it was me, it didn't matter if it was Landry, it didn't matter if it was any other officer out there. His plan was to shoot whoever it was that was coming after him.
Speaker 1:What kind of gun do you have? Do you know?
Speaker 2:Nine mil something.
Speaker 4:Nine mil. I think it had an extended magazine on it.
Speaker 2:That's what I kept hearing on that too.
Speaker 1:But those are illegal. He wasn't following the law.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess not. He was possessing a gun by a felon or a piece of shit.
Speaker 4:Well, he can't shoot the police either. Yeah, well, you can't shoot the police either.
Speaker 3:Yeah, wow. Well, I can't tell you how much we appreciate, I mean, the fact that number one, the fact that you were irritated that you were there 10 days. I mean all of us are seasoned cops and we were like 10 days Jesus.
Speaker 1:Christ, I'm thinking 10 weeks, 10 months.
Speaker 3:Fuck, I got a broke toe in 10 days. I'd be like, okay, a couple more days.
Speaker 1:I think I'll be good to go. But tell me about navigating. It's been a couple of years now. How personally growing and you said the one thing that still haunts you is is the dark. You know, wondering about that guy if if I hadn't gone down and the grace of god you're going down saved you. But how personally working through this, what does that look like for crystal to grow, heal, find some closure? You know your dad got killed and then you get shot and think, by the grace of god you're still here and what is moving on and healing? How's that? What's that picture look like?
Speaker 2:I think I've been doing okay. I mean I've. They're like go talk to somebody, go talk to somebody until I have to and I go. And you know from what I've gathered from them, everything is they think that I'm processing it. Well, I, I know that there have been some days that have been harder than others.
Speaker 2:There have been some pockets of time that were harder than others where I'm just kind of it was a, it was a life change, because you go in to work, you've been doing this, you have a schedule, you have a routine, you have your life pretty much kind of set right in the way that it is, and then you go get shot. And then I think the part that irritated me the most after that was that people treated you, treated me now like you're handicapped, like you're fragile, like I'm it's not that like I'm these badass because I got shot. I'm just like but don't treat me like I'm, like I'm gonna break if I fall like I'm not glass, like it's okay, you know, and so it's like, even with that, then you start thinking.
Speaker 2:I remember crying to my fiance and I'm just thinking like what does my life look like in six months? And then we get to that six month mark and it's like okay, like it's been going good, and you know. And then during this time that I've been out, I ended up pregnant, had my second son, and it's just like everything that has happened after that it's just been like I'm taking it all in, I think about like okay, you don't get shot in the face, through the head, out the ear, and like get to live to tell the story. So it's like it's crazy. I just take it all in, like I think about the moment and I'm just like I get to experience this, like I get to do it, I get to do it, so it's okay, like it's good, it's just now I was out, and so then you become a mom again, right, and then so you're dealing with like postpartum, which is a whole beast in itself, and both of those colliding. You're just like what is really going on? And then you start questioning I have who are you Like? What are you doing with life? Like what is going on.
Speaker 2:And so I've been very eager to get back to some type of normalcy for me, which is the PD and like what that looked like. Just get me in, like. And I was very eager to come back because I'm like, let me just do something that feels familiar, that feels like an old piece of me, because since my incident I'm a completely different person, I'm not the same person, and so I've just been looking for like that little piece. So now that I get to go back to work, I'm just excited, I'm looking forward to it. New opportunities, new, just new everything.
Speaker 2:So the mindset that I have now is just like, take it in. Like it's not worth being mad about, don't be mad about it. Like, just just enjoy the things that you can enjoy. If you have a little bit of money, your bills are paid, take the trip. Don't take the trip Like. Take the trip Like. I don't even know if I'm allowed to say this, but if you have some sick days and you really just don't feel like going to work today, take your sick days, because then I think about I would have died, the city would have stayed with all my time. I'm glad that I took my days off. I'm very glad that I did, but it's just stuff like that, like just enjoy, enjoy life.
Speaker 2:Enjoy it Like just do it L-I-V-I-V-N-G.
Speaker 1:What's your, what's your hopes? What inside, inside the PD trolls CID promote?
Speaker 2:CID is what we're looking at now. Okay, I uh, prior to getting shot, I had this whole plan. I was doing some UC work and I wanted to really pursue that. I wanted to take it bigger. I wanted to hopefully be so good that I was working with DEA, with FBI, like doing you know, and then you go get shot, you can center of attention.
Speaker 4:They plaster your face everywhere.
Speaker 2:They plaster your face. And then it's like now the PD won't chance it. They're like maybe you can work, not, but on the backside, like you can process the paperwork, and it's like, dang it, you know. So it's just finding like a new, a new avenue with the PD, and so there's talk about me going to CID. I'm really excited about that because I'm trying to see what I can do there. I know that there's a lot of work to be done, but just how fun can I make it? How good, can you get?
Speaker 3:When one door closes, another one will open. There's a reason why it happened.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you're aware most people don't get shot in the face and then pretty much return to a pretty normal life. I mean, you look great walking in, nobody would ever know and you're healthy walking. Um, most people in life don't get shot in the face and then roll on and by God, I'm sick of the hospital.
Speaker 2:Can you get me out of here.
Speaker 1:I've been here for an hour already and um, you've got a Testament and a story. Um, and an example for people that have gone through this. Because cops are pessimistic, we're complainers, gripers, and I broke my foot. Woe is me, and I can't get on SWAT now because I've hurt my foot. Well, you could have been shot in the face. So suck it up, let's move on, enjoy your career, enjoy life and, like you said, take the trip. Um, cause we get in a rut sometimes in this job, and what a story that you have to share.
Speaker 4:Yep, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Well, we like to end each episode with three rapid fire questions. Jay was supposed to tell you what they are.
Speaker 1:You didn't study for this. Oh me, oh Jay, Cheating Okay.
Speaker 3:So what is your favorite line from a cop movie? Or your favorite cop movie? You like that.
Speaker 1:That's good, it's practicing.
Speaker 3:So your favorite line from a cop movie or your favorite cop movie?
Speaker 2:End of what.
Speaker 1:Awesome.
Speaker 2:It feels more realistic.
Speaker 4:I watch Bad Boys and I get pissed. I'm like that doesn't happen, you don't get to shoot a whole city and take all these cars out and just go to the next.
Speaker 2:No, no, end of watch.
Speaker 1:That's a common answer on here.
Speaker 3:Favorite cop car Cop car.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, I've only known the X4. I've only known the expert.
Speaker 3:I've only. You only know what you know and I've done good in these.
Speaker 2:I never fleeted, I never anything, so I'll just stick to the expert that's all I know.
Speaker 3:You never say that. You can't say that shit which part. I never. You gotta knock. You gotta knock on wood three times. Come on, what the that's like saying the quiet word on patrol.
Speaker 2:I mean, one time I ran into a little tree. Bush, that's not a fleet.
Speaker 3:You can't say that they're fixing to go back to work and you say that shit on a podcast.
Speaker 2:I never fleeted. I don't even have a car, god, I walked around with a Nerf gun because they won't let me walk around with my car. They're going to drive her around.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, it's awfully quiet for a full moon, for a full moon.
Speaker 4:There's a couple of people in Mo City that just need to be driven around with heavy fleets.
Speaker 3:There's no argument there. There's a lot of cops that need that. What is your favorite drink or choice when you are relaxing with friends and family?
Speaker 4:On that vacation.
Speaker 2:Oh, cran-apple Sprite.
Speaker 3:Cran-apple.
Speaker 1:I ain't wrong about that. Cran-apple Sprite that, that sounds pretty good.
Speaker 3:That sounds pretty good, like right now.
Speaker 1:It's really good, yeah, yeah, that sounds good.
Speaker 3:Well, hey, we got our conference coming up. We're always looking for people to come spread the word. Talk about excuse me, the mic went out talk about TMPA, talk about the many benefits that we've got. But also you are. I know that you don't think of yourself as a legend or your situation, but you've got to look at it from our perspective. I'm a 20-year cop, quentin's a 30-something-year-old cop.
Speaker 1:Not year old, a 30-year-old. Thank you, man 30 years of service.
Speaker 3:Jay's got a number of years of service. What you went through you remind me a lot of a good friend of mine, claudia Cormier, down in San Marcos the drive behind you and the dedication shown for you to return back to work in such a manner that what you did there needs to be more. You need to share your story with more people Because I think law enforcement we get wrapped up and so engulfed in all the negative bullshit that we get wrapped up in every single day, that really doesn't matter, it doesn't make a shit, it doesn't make a nothing. And so to see a success story like yours, I remember the night, the morning, when you were shot. You know TMPA, there's emails that float around and text messages and I was like, oh my God. And so you hear about it and you're, and to see you I mean you're sitting next to me today to to it's a huge success story, so it's awesome, it means a lot.
Speaker 1:Honored to have you on.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolute pleasure to have you on, yeah. Yeah, all right, and we don't, we don't, we didn't judge you at all because you know, jay, we don't hold that against you.
Speaker 3:No, he's gone. He's a really nice guy. He really is. You're still defending.
Speaker 4:I am a nice guy he is he's?
Speaker 1:never, been wrong. He's like towards me. He tells me all the time I've never been wrong.
Speaker 4:I've never been wrong, can't recall one time you hired her.
Speaker 1:I mean clearly, that's true.
Speaker 3:Shout out to our camera girl, natalie Garza. She is. I don't know if, by this time this podcast drops, she might be giving birth to her first child. Also, shout out to Ms Shelley, who is assisting with our camera details. We are going to get her on the podcast sometime pretty soon.
Speaker 1:While Ms Natalie is out, Shelley the Vanna White of Blue Grit Podcast. Yes, absolutely, absolutely. You got anything else, I got nothing. Tnpa Conference July 26, 27, 28. Tnpa FOP Joint Conference Dallas, texas, hyatt Regency Reunion Tower. Be there or be square, you're a loser if you don't come.
Speaker 3:Pretty big election that's coming up.
Speaker 1:You're a loser if you don't come.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm not a loser though I'm coming.
Speaker 3:I'll be there. I'll be there. You guys, take care, stay safe. God bless you no-transcript.