By Greg Lynch and Tom Archdeacon
Dayton Daily News, Ohio
DAYTON, Ohio — Dayton police officer Byron Branch appeared on Fox and Friends Wednesday morning to talk about his upcoming trip to Paris to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Branch, a talented wheelchair fencer, has competed all around the world the past few years and is qualified to represent the United States in Paris . The Games happen from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
Branch lost his leg in the line of duty in December, 2016 when a SUV spun out of control, hitting his patrol car as he was dealing with a semi driver who had gone off the ice-coated road along a northbound stretch of I-75 near US-35.
He also had a head wound, broken ribs and a ruptured spleen, and four of his front teeth were knocked out.
He returned to light duty within seven months of his injury and was back patrolling East Dayton 364 days after he’d been hurt. In 2018, Branch was named Dayton’s Police Officer of the Year, then in 2021, he won the department’s prestigious Steve Whalen Memorial Policing Award for his work in the community, especially for mentoring youth and building relationships in group homes.
Fox and Friends host Ainsley Earhardt asked Branch how he was able to get to the point to start training again after the incident.
“I think what’s most important once you go through a traumatic event is trying to get yourself back to the level you were prior to the event and do everything you did as normally as possible as you did before,” he said.
About how he felt about going to Paris , Branch said he was looking forward to having his family there to see him compete.
“I’m excited about the whole thing. I’m really excited that they get to be there and that I get to see them and we get to be in a foreign country together, I think that’s going to be awesome,” he said. “It will be the first time for them seeing me compete out of the country at that level.”
The atmosphere of the Paralympic Games excited Branch.
“I’m most excited just to be in the atmosphere of all the other athletes there that are going to be representing the country. and the then all the athletes from all over the world. Being in that atmosphere, it’s incredible,” he said.
At the end of the interview, Branch was asked if there was anything he wanted to say to the officers of the Dayton police department.
“Sgt. Spires, I do what to thank you for helping me get all the time off I needed to do this. Sgt. Dine wanted me to say hello to him, so hey Sgt. Dine, and hey everyone else at the Dayton police department,” he said.
Branch also talked about his GoFundMe page to help take care of his expenses for the trip.
At the time of this story, the effort has raised over $44,500 from over 700 donations.
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