Two Richmond police officers who were shot while responding to a call last June are sharing their stories of recovery and perseverance. Jason Scott and Rashad Martin were each shot twice. One of them barely survived.
According to police last year, 30-year-old Rashad Martin and 28-year-old Jason Scott responded to a report of a person with a gun in the Manchester neighborhood of Richmond. Soon after they arrived, according to authorities, a suspect started shooting. Gunfire was returned. The suspect and the two officers were shot.
Both were shot twice. Officer Martin was hit in his left knee and arm. He said one gunshot essentially broke his femur. Officer Scott was shot in his chest and stomach. Both of them were rushed to a hospital. Scott was in critical condition, in and out of three surgeries immediately after the shooting, and another surgery later on.
Martin was in the hospital for about a week. Scott was released in early July after living at the hospital for a month, WRIC reports.
Despite everything that happened to both of us, we’re still willing to go out here and do what we signed up to do,” Martin said, “Which is basically to protect the community.”
Both of them still have long recoveries ahead.
The suspect, now 20-year-old Waseem Hacket, is still in and out of court with several related charges. He was shot during the shootout and sustained a non-life threatening injury, according to police.
