PTSD: In the line of duty

One officer's struggle to recover from wounds seen and unseen
WAVE 3 News
By David Mattingly, Anchor/Reporter
Saturday, February 3rd 2018

Johnson said he has some simple advice for Detective Darrell Hyche, who was wounded on duty Thursday. "When you need help, ask for it," he said.

D'Shawn Johnson was shot in the line of duty on June 19, 1999. He says he lives with it everyday. (Source: WAVE 3 News)

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - WAVE 3 News Safety and Security Expert D'Shawn Johnson recalled vividly the night he was shot in the line of duty.

On patrol as a Louisville police officer, he stopped in the Portland neighborhood to break up a fight when shots rang out.

"It always stays in your mind," he said thoughtfully. "And you always mark that date, you know, when you could have lost your life."

In Johnson's case, it was June 19, 1999.

The bullet entered his upper arm, shattered the bone and lodged deep in his shoulder. He said there was so much blood, he thought his life was over.

He described sitting on the pavement in an alley, feeling angry that he would not be able to say goodbye to the people he loved.

"Thought about family, thought about friends. Basically that was it," he sighed.

Five surgeries and six months of metal rods protruding from his arm helped put Johnson's body back together. But there were also wounds he said he could not see.
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LMPD Officer Darrell Hyche was struck in the head by a bullet during a drug sting. He was doing a job that almost cost him his life.