“The accident didn’t deter me. I was full of fire and still wanted to come back to work,” he said. “I was more
scared that they were going to be mad at me for ruining a vehicle, but my director said just heal up and come
back to work. That was a good feeling.”
RYAN DAUGHTON
lowed, and finally the prisoner made it out of the overturned
vehicle. Daughton suffered cuts and bruises and was patched up
with staples in his arms, but still returned to work the next week.
“The accident didn’t deter me. I was full of fire and still wanted to
come back to work,” he said. “I was more scared that they were
going to be mad at me for ruining a vehicle, but my director said
just heal up and come back to work. That was a good feeling.”
Cut to Oct. 17 of last year, and the now seasoned officer was
working overtime directing traffic for a construction company.
Around 12:30 p.m. a call went out for a stolen motor vehicle. With
an unmarked detective bureau car in pursuit, the stolen vehicle
started to flee, tearing a path of destruction down one of New
Brunswick’s busiest streets – and onto the sidewalk, trying to run
people over to get away from the police. Daughton learned that the
pursuit was coming his way so he drove toward it to try end the
threat.
“He’s driving toward me, sees he has nowhere to go, and hits me
on the driver’s side of my vehicle,” Daughton described. “I felt the
impact, saw him strike another police vehicle, and then he gets
stuck between that and a civilian vehicle.” Daughton exited another
in a series of police cars mangled around him, and with gun drawn
approached the suspect still in his stolen car, ordering him to get
out. “He’s not listening, so I take my baton and smash the driver’s
side window and literally dragged the guy out of the car with the
help of another police officer. It was like a Hollywood chase scene.”
After a quick EMS scan, Daughton returned to his trafficdirecting post with a few cuts and worked his regular shift during
the next few days. But when pains in his leg and side proved to be
more than just “gym soreness” as he originally thought, he landed
in the hospital.
“I started having trou