A brave Mississippi sheriff’s deputy who got shot twice in the head in response to a 911 call, credited his miraculous recovery to a prayer of forgiveness he said for his attacker.
In an interview titled, “No Interruption”, Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Sullivan spoke about his recovery and the deep depression he went through after waking up from coma.
The cop, single father and Little League coach, finally left hospital on December. 20, 2019, several months after getting injured during a possible kidnapping on September. 5.
He was among the first officers to respond, and was still in his vehicle when he was shot at. “We knew it’s obviously going to be a hot call,” recalled fellow Madison County Sheriff’s Lt. Joey Butler. “As deputies were getting on scene, our suspect fled from the house and a vehicle pursuit ensued… we were able to spike, deflate the tires on the vehicle. The vehicle wrecked out. Deputies were trying to converge on his location and he bailed out with a rifle and started firing on us.”
It was later revealed by Mississippi Bureau of Investigation supervisor Lt. Troy Travis that the suspect, Edgar Egbert, had a fully automatic rifle with up to four magazines holding 30 rounds each.
“When I saw him bail out with a long rifle, I put it in reverse,” Sullivan said. “As soon as I hit reverse is when the two rounds hit me here,” Sullivan continued pointing to his right temple. “My foot automatically just pressed the gas, which was in reverse, so I backed up and hit a ditch and wrecked out. And I don’t know how many rounds my Tahoe actually took. But I know he shot probably 90 times.”
Butler rushed to Sullivan’s vehicle after the suspect was in custody and found the deputy covered in blood but still conscious. “He started packing my head with gauze and stuff to stop the bleeding,” Sullivan said.
He asked him where he was hit and Butler put a tourniquet on his arm, said a laughing Sullivan. It was after he regained his consciousness that made him realize that Butler had lied to him about the arm wound to keep him calm. It was Butler’s actions which are being credited for helping save Sullivan’s life.
He was airlifted and admitted to the ICU at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, in a highly critical condition and was given little chance of recovery.
“I was very depressed when I first came out of the coma,” Sullivan said, “And I was probably depressed until I went in for my second or third surgery to my head.”
When Sullivan was asked by the interviewer about his belief in the power of prayer, Sullivan answered saying, “I can tell that there’s a lot of prayers being said for me,” Sullivan told Lahren. “And as for my recovery, due to the fact that I wasn’t supposed to recover, my doctors have even told me that I’ve come further than they ever expected me to in the short period of time that it has happened.”
Sullivan said that he has forgiven his attacker, “Me and God have actually talked about it. I forgive him… he’s got to face consequences now. We’ll both stand in front of the Pearly Gates and see what goes on from there. But I forgive him for what he done.”
“I finally woke up one morning,” Sullivan continued, “that’s back when I was depressed all the time, every morning at the same time, about 7 o’clock in the morning, it would just hit me. And I sat down and I started praying and I told God I forgive him. And from that day forward, the depression hasn’t been here.”
Watch: Sheriff’s deputy forgives attacker who shot him twice in the head
This is not the first time that Sullivan was wounded in the line of duty. In 2016, he was shot while apprehending a violent habitual offender during a routine traffic stop. He was honored by the Mississippi Center for Police & Sheriffs for his service, deemed a “top cop” and a “well-respected officer” by local officials.
On December 15, Sullivan received the Medal of Valor from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department during a fundraising event where Butler read a letter that he wrote nominating Sullivan for the award. “There are many words to describe Brad, but they can be summarized in the word valor,” he read, “Throughout his recovery, Brad has been continuously challenged. In true ‘Brad fashion,’ he continues to push on. He just squares his jaw and accomplishes the challenges set before him.”
We are so proud of Officer Sullivan and his achievements in the line of duty for his country, but what touched us the most was his faith in God and forgiveness towards his attacker which make his stand out as a man of God and great police officer of the country.
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