Officer that survived shooting 'amazed' to be alive

ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) - Getting around isn't easy for Anderson Police Officer Marty Dulworth. For the past three months he's had to rely on crutches and wheel chairs.

Ask him about it and he'll tell you he doesn't like it. But he'll also tell you this: “Well I can tell you the most amazing thing is this I'm alive. A lot of things happened that night that I didn't die there on the street.”

That night was July 26. Panic filled a Pendleton neighborhood. Suspect Kenneth Jim Bailey went to his estranged wife's Pendleton home carrying an AK-47.

Bailey started shooting.

He killed a neighbor.

PHOTOS | View images from the scene that night.

Police, including Dulworth and his K-9 partner Kilo, responded.

The two were in an alley when the gunman opened fire on them. Both were hit.

“(Bailey) shot him and then shot me twice out of 20 rounds from not very far away. 12-15 feet away with a fully automatic AK-47,” said Dulworth.

When the injured police dog became aggressive toward another officer, Kilo had to be put down. The decision devastated Dulworth.

“If it wasn't for Kilo, I wouldn't be here,” he said. “He is an absolute hero.”

KILO | Read more from Dulworth on Kilo.

The night ended with the suspect killing himself and paramedics rushing Dulworth to St. Vincent's emergency room. He had been shot in the right leg and the left foot. X-rays showed the bullet had destroyed most of his bones and tissue.

SURGERY ON OFFICER DULWORTH

During surgery, doctors used metal screws and plates to replace the bones. But in order to save the foot, new tissue and muscle had to be added. That would come from Dulworth's stomach area.

“We took tissue from his abdomen, which is half of the six pack people talk about. We take the blood vessels with it and plug those blood vessels into blood vessels in his foot, to restore the blood supply,” said Dr. Kevin Knox.

Knox is with the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center. He specializes in microvascular surgery.

“That's the technically demanding part of the surgery. Those vessels are normally 1 to 1 1/2 mm in diameter and we have to sew them together under a microscope. The monitoring process afterwards is very intense,” said Knox.

The surgery is now being called a success. The added muscle on Dulworth’s foot, called a flap, will take up to a year to fully heal.

“The flap will have some bulk to it that will probably necessitate getting special shoes made, but beyond that he will be able to walk as if he didn't have the injury,” said Knox.

Walking without crutches is likely months away. But Dulworth says he can see the foot is healing.

“Just up to a month ago, that's when I started seeing the major changes. Seems like every day I would wake up and it would seem smaller,” Dulworth said.

Helping Dulworth through his recovery is his wife Jessica. The couple will happily tell you about the day Marty was discharged from St. Vincent's — Aug. 10. That's because it's the same day they got married.

WEDDING BELLS

“We wasn't gonna let it pass. I'm not going to let some bad guy who wants to shoot me take away my wedding,” said Dulworth.

Nurses, doctors and hospital staff made sure the couple had everything they needed for the wedding, including a three tier wedding cake. Once the reception was over, Dulworth left the hospital with a new foot and a new wife.

“We were married, had the reception, went back to the room, packed up and was gone,” said Dulworth.

The Anderson officer is determined to lose the crutches and walk again. He is looking forward to starting physical therapy. While he waits, he is working on a new project. He’s training a new dog named Titan to be his police partner.

“The bond is already there. He loves us. He's going to be a good dog,” Dulworth said.

He looks forward to the day both can report for duty.

Previous coverage:

• Officers, neighbor shot in Pendleton
• Police: Pendleton shooter had 'will to hurt others'
• Video: Emotional news conference after the incident