By Jessica Priest
Victoria Advocate, Texas
EDNA, Texas — Seven months ago, Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Martin plummeted from an 18-foot-tall bridge, injuring his lower back and sternum and shattering his femur.
And he remembers falling.
“I remember thinking, ‘When I hit the ground, that’s it. This is how I go,’” Martin said.
He landed on his left side. When he regained consciousness, Martin discovered his radio, normally hanging on his belt, was near his arm.
He couldn’t move much of his body and now considers the radio’s placement to be lucky. He summoned just enough strength to press the radio’s emergency button, alerting a dispatcher in Edna that something was very, very wrong.
Martin was on Farm-to-Market Road 616 near Lolita. The land in that area is low lying with the Lavaca River and some of its creeks and estuaries. It took about 15 minutes before Edna Police Officer Jeff Tipton found him.
Martin was pushed off the bridge Sept. 20 by Adam Twardowski, a man who he had pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving.
Twardowski recently pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of a peace officer and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Because Twardowski intentionally and knowingly used his hands as a deadly weapon, he must serve at least 20 years in prison before he is eligible for parole, Jackson County District Attorney Bobby Bell said.
Twardowski accepted a plea bargain. His trial would have taken place May 18.
He also has since been served with a parole violation warrant for a 2009 felony DWI case in Wharton County, Wharton County District Attorney Ross Kurtz said.
Twardowski’s attorney, David Disher, of Schulenburg, could not be reached for comment.
Martin returned to work two weeks ago, but he’s not yet behind the wheel of a patrol car.
While he did follow Twardowski’s case, Martin was confident it would be handled in a way he thought was fair. He doesn’t express any anger or need for vengeance.
“That’s just how I was brought up. I can’t wish anything bad on anybody,” Martin said. “He’s got kids, too. He made a bad decision.”
Martin, 31, focuses instead on getting well.
After he fell, he spent 10 days in a San Antonio hospital undergoing three surgeries.
He pushed himself through excruciating pain to walk with a walker 50 yards, a metric doctors said he had to meet before being released.
“I guess I’m just hard-headed,” he said.
The father of three has a steel plate in his leg and pins and screws supporting his back. He can never quite get comfortable enough when trying to sleep, though, despite what he describes as the overwhelming gift from Kamin’s of new furniture to suit his unique situation.
Martin also isn’t in physical therapy anymore, but rides a bike three times a week for eight miles.
Martin has been attacked before. While a deputy in Calhoun County, a suspect managed to wrap the cord attached to his radio around his neck and choke him. He was able to regain control of the suspect, though.
The latest injuries happened shortly after leaving an Edna football game. Then, he saw Twardowski traveling the opposite direction toward him.
Twardowski went into Martin’s lane, so Martin turned around and began following him, he said.
Before Martin could turn on his lights and sirens to initiate the traffic stop, Twardowski pulled over onto the bridge, though.
“The main thing I wanted was to tell my story of how it happened. There are a lot of misconceptions. I could read online comments asking, ‘Why would a deputy stop someone on a bridge?’ Well, I didn’t,” Martin said.
He added he’s since watched the dashboard camera footage that shows Twardowski looking over the bridge as if to measure how far the drop was, which Martin didn’t notice at the time.
Of course, Twardowski, like most people in his situation, asked Martin for leniency. He was on parole.
“I hate taking people to jail. It’s not something I like to do ... but if I stop someone I think is intoxicated and don’t do a field sobriety test and then they go on down the road and hurt somebody, not only is that on me, but I would feel horrible. I could have prevented that,” Martin said.
Twardowski pushed Martin’s chest while he was administering the walk and turn test. He remembers Twardowski’s girlfriend had arrived on scene at that time and was questioning him about the stop. Despite continued requests that she remain in her car, she was distracting Martin.
“There was no indication he was going to do it. Hejust turned around and pushed me and off I went. I couldn’t stop myself and went over the bridge’s concrete barrier,” he said.
Since then, Martin and his family have received an outpouring of support, so much he said that it would be impossible to write individual thank you cards.
More than $7,000 was raised on gofundme.com to help his family deal with the expense of traveling to and from doctors appointments.
The Edna Police Department even mowed his lawn for a few weeks.
Edna Police Chief Clinton Wooldridge has never worked with Martin on the street, but said his department felt compelled to help.
“There is probably less than 30 police officers in this county. The guys on patrol rely heavily on each for safety and assistance, so it doesn’t matter if you’re from the Edna Police Department, the Ganado Police Department or the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, they always step up,” Wooldridge said. “I’m not sure what Martin’s health is right now, but I’m confident he has something to put on the table, something to give.”
For now, Martin assists with other deputy’s investigations, takes reports from the public and files paperwork at the office. Although it’s not ideal, it’s better than how restless he felt at home, watching TV, he said.
He’s most looking forward to patrolling the 857 square miles of Jackson County again, possibly as soon as June.
“This won’t scare me from ever doing my job again. I can tell you that. But I do think it will make me a better officer in the long run,” he said. “Late at night you can ride out on the county roads, put the radio on and it’s just you. That’s peaceful to me. I can’t wait to have that back.”
Copyright 2015 Victoria Advocate