Iraq Vet with PTSD says "I owe my life to the deputy" after being shot

Iraq war vet could avoid jail in scuffle with deputy
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
Howell -- An Iraq war veteran who was shot in the stomach after trying to disarm a Livingston County Sheriff's deputy could avoid jail time under a sentence issued for him today.

Brent Michael McMullen, 30, of Walled Lake was sentenced to a post-traumatic stress disorder program at the Veterans Administration Hospital, 90 days in jail and five years of probation. The jail time could be waived if McMullen completes the six-month PTSD program, under the sentence from Judge David Reader of Livingston Circuit Court.

McMullen, 30, of Walled Lake said in court he does not remember what happened the night of Jan. 9, 2009, but knew he was on a disastrous road, and all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder had been present. Friends told him to seek help.

"I owe my life to the deputy. I don't know how I could have kept going the way I was," McMullen said.

He apologized for making the deputy go through the similar emotional trauma of having to shoot his weapon.



From The Detroit News: Iraq war vet could avoid jail in scuffle with deputy