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NEW JERSEY COPS n JULY 2014
Many happy returns
A year after losing his left foot in a tragic accident, Mike Braxton
comes back to work at the Atlantic City PD determined to help
other amputees get a leg up.
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
Atlantic City Local 24 member Mike Braxton had been looking forward to this June 19 afternoon for nearly a year. The intensity that propelled him to detective after just six years on the job
bubbled up again as he prepared to return to work for the first
time since June 9, 2013 when an off-duty motorcycle accident
caused an injury that resulted in the lower left portion of his leg
being amputated. “It was never an option,” Braxton said, “not to
return in my mind.”
But he never expected this. When Braxton approached the
back entrance of the Atlantic City Police Department, Local 24
members, colleagues, superior officers and an assortment of dignitaries, including Mayor Donald Guardian, lined up on either
side of the entrance. Here was an escort accompanied by a salute
wrapped into an honor guard capped by a standing ovation
greeting Braxton, whose return made for a monumental, if not
historic, moment in law enforcement.
“This wasn’t just coming back for duty,” Braxton asserted. “I’ve
seen them, kids born this way without a leg or people lose their
legs because of disease. I’m like, ‘C’mon, I have to get back, and
by coming back I’m here to set precedence.”
Inspiration filled the air on this afternoon, and the crescendo
of the applause validated all the perspiration Braxton mustered
to get here. How he got back here from that tragic accident is a
story, a statement and a message that confirms Braxton will be
a better version of the cop and the man before that day when he
had to ditch that motorcycle.
“No more crazy overtime,” continued Braxton who passed a
functional capacity test with ease to get the green light to come
back to the department. “Now, I have to give back. I have to
inspire others. I have no choice. I want my coming back to make
a statement that will make New Jersey pick up its hiring for people who are amputees, especially in law enforcement.”
The road back starts here
Before getting to here, Braxton first had to get back to his Mays
Landing home. After getting out of the hospital following the
accident, he lived with his grandmother for a couple of months.
He spent the first few days thinking about the accident, about
what other maneuver he might have been able to pull off when
that Honda changed lanes into his path and separated Braxton
from his bike. But only for a few days.
Instead, he decided the road back would be in small steps and
small goals.
“When I came home, I had to sleep in the living room because