Behind The Badge: The Lasting Impact

Sworn to protect and serve, Oklahoma's first responders face danger on duty daily.

Officers' body cameras capture tense moments on the job, where a wrong move could mean life or death. Most never talk about the lasting impact, but one officer is now sharing his story.

It started on a warm night in March 2022, a call for help in Southeast Oklahoma City soon turned into the fight of a lifetime for Officer Bryce Sheehan as he approached 23-year-old Crasteven Wilson for a pat-down search. "And next thing I know is. Flash! I thought I was shot in the face. It just happened so quick," Sheehan says the bullet fired at point-blank range barely missed his head.

He took off running, diving behind a car for cover as Wilson chased him with a gun. Another shot hit Sheehan in the leg. "The main thing going through my head...I had to go home," Sheehan says his wife was pregnant with their first child at the time. He managed to return fire, but he wasn't out of the gunfight. His body camera, picked up the chaos as it unfolded. "Shots fired! Shots fired! I'm hit! He's taking off in my car! Shots fired! I'm hit!"

Wilson tried to steal Sheehan's patrol car, but he'd also been shot during their exchange. He eventually hid inside a trash can and died before officers found him. Meanwhile, Sheehan tied a tourniquet around his leg, stopping the flow of blood while he waited for the distant sound of sirens to come closer.

Sheehan says he initially had doubts about returning to work, but those doubts proved no match for his sense of duty. "It is a great job. I also enjoy getting violent criminals off the street to make the city safer."

Related Article: https://www.news9.com/story/6577da93b3e950064fa47cb3/watch-our-special:-behind-the-badge