By Ashley Silver
Police1
WICHITA, Kan. — A Kansas officer is back on patrol after nearly losing his life from being shot in the face while desperately trying to help save the lives of fellow officers.
According to KWCH News, Wichita police officer Kyle Mellard was more than deserving of the recent Officer of the Year award bestowed upon him, saving the lives of fellow officers by warning them of an ambush while taking fire himself. The violent attack happened in June 2021 and began when Mellard received a call over the radio from other officers requesting backup.
“We were about to go home when the officers came up over the radio, calling for help, saying they were being shot at,” Mellard told KWCH. Mellard immediately changed his plans and rushed to assist.
“When we got on scene, we got out of the car and went and checked on the first officer, which happened to be my sister,” Mellard told the news platform. Quickly realizing this was an ambush, Mellard worked to contain the scene – cautiously searching for the suspect responsible.
“He was waiting for the first officer to walk around the corner and I just happened to be the unlucky one to take the first step around. And that’s when he fired the first shot,” Mellard said.
Mellard instinctively began to yell to other officers to warn them of the suspect’s location. “I jumped back and yelled out to the other officers on scene that I was in contact with the suspect. And I came back around the corner and returned fire while moving,” he said.
During the gunfight, Mellard was shot three times, once to the face, which rendered him unconscious. He eventually regained consciousness and recalled the heroic actions of his fellow officers and his own will to live pushing him to survive: “I was fighting for my life at that point. It was because of quick actions getting me out of the street and into a police car and to the hospital as quickly as they did is what saved my life because I was losing a lot of blood.”
Over a year later – and after 15 surgeries and countless hours of rehab – Mellard is back on duty. When asked why he was so persistent about getting back to the job, Mellard focused on one word: “Passion. I love this job. Actions speak louder than words and I want to return to my job to serve my community and to thank them for what they did for me and my family in our time of need.”
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