BURLESON COUNTY, Texas — Chief Deputy John Pollock is known across the Brazos Valley for his service to local communities.
On Tuesday, Aug. 17, Pollock was shot in the face while serving a warrant at a home near Snook. Just two weeks after, Chief Deputy John Pollock is back to work.
"It feels great to be back here," Pollock said. "Walking in the door, just thankful to be alive and thankful to be back at work with all of my coworkers. It's going to be a slow process, but every day I feel stronger and I think every day I will stay here a little longer and continue to improve."
Pollock said his mouth will be wired shut for a total of six weeks, and while he's not back to 100 percent from his injury just yet, every day he's inching closer.
"The fixator here that holds my jaw together will probably be about three months and then my oral surgeon says we will have to assess to see if we will need more bone grafts to close it," said Pollock. "The bullet shattered my mandible in half. Everything is having to grow back together."
Burleson County Sheriff Gene Hermes said he is thankful for the recovery.
"After the first phone call when Chief Pollock called me and told me he had been shot. I never believed that in this short period of time that he would be standing here in front of you doing an interview this quick," Hermes said.
Hermes said the shooting could have had a different, and devastating outcome.
"Majority of the time ... it does... we are so thankful it has gone the way it has," said Hermes. "I know Chief Pollock is going thru heck right now ... his recovery ... his mouth wired shut. I can only imagine what he is going through."
When the shooting happened Pollock said he didn't know what to expect or the extent of his injuries. Pollock said the community's support is half of his healing.
"I am thankful for my surgeon for getting me back to where I am at this point," said Pollock. "For all of the care that I have been given, all of the community support. It's a huge part of it. To be standing here obviously I am very happy to be here. I think my healing is going as well as can be expected. If this is all I have to deal with, I can deal with this."
His presence means more than just a coworker back at work to his good friends and Sheriff.
"This goes way back... me and Chief Pollock have been friends for a long time," said Sheriff Hermes. "It's not just the work part of it... Yeah, I am glad to see him back at work and glad for him because he's not a quitter. He doesn't like to sit around. He wanted to come to work."
Sheriff Hermes said since he was elected sheriff, the first person he hired to help his agency succeed was Chief Pollock to assist him.
"I can't think of a day without him here," Sheriff Hermes said. "He's going to come back at his pace and handle his job ... he's a trooper I tell ya."