Officer patrols again after shooting

FORTVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - Less than six months after he was shot in the line of duty during a traffic stop, a Fortville officer is back in the patrol car.

Officer Matt Fox was shot in the wrist and forehead during a traffic stop at the end of July, 2012. The man police say shot Fox was later killed in a shoot out with police that night.

Fox was in a medically induced coma right after the incident, and endured months of rehab.

He’s been on desk duty since October at the Fortville Police Department.

“It’s never not going through my mind, since that day,” said Fox.

But he says he’s wanted to get back on the road for months now.

“I said from day one, I would be back in six months, the first of the year,” he said. “A lot of people said that wasn’t possible, but I am back.”

He’s back behind the wheel, bearing a scar where a bullet hit his forehead.

Behind him, sits his K9 Lannie. They’re in the same exact car they were in the night of the traffic stop.

“She’s been ready to come back for awhile now, just like me,” he added.

Officer Fox made his first traffic stop Tuesday since that July night. He said it was for speeding, and was uneventful.

“I can’t believe he’s back yet. I remember the night he was in the hospital, the night this happened,” said Sgt. Mike Fuller with Fortville PD. “We wondered if he’d come out of the hospital, let alone come back to work.”

Fox says he’s had tremendous amount of support, from the community holding fundraisers, to police departments across central Indiana reaching out.

He says his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter were also instrumental in his recovery.

“Prayers were answered, and I’m able to sit in the cruiser and drive around, protect the community again,” said Fox.

“Things can change in the drop of a hat basically. Life is precious; don’t take it for granted.”