In a world where strength and resilience are synonymous with a tank, Justin Dodge stands out as a beacon of determination. Trained to face life-and-death situations, such as standoffs with armed suspects holding hostages, it may come as a surprise that this 51-year-old Denver Police Department SWAT sergeant is delving into the world of cultivating beautiful flowers, embracing the finer things in life. Perhaps his newfound appreciation stems from a deep understanding of the fragility of life.
Nearly a decade ago, Dodge’s life hung in the balance during a mission, surviving but losing his left leg below the knee. Despite leading his armed SWAT team into action almost daily, on his days off, he finds solace in tending to perennials in his garden.
Traditionally, the imagery of SWAT teams executing high-risk search warrants involving firearms or violent felons depicted a chaotic scene of heavily armored officers bursting through doors to apprehend suspects. But times have changed.
“Our culture, everything we do, revolves around saving lives. That’s the key,” Dodge told The Epoch Times.
The new approach is more methodical. Armored vehicle drivers work in tandem with hostage negotiators and detectives to safely extract suspects, ensuring everyone remains unharmed by the end of the operation.
Dodge undergoes daily training to prepare for the critical moments where hostages’ lives hang in the balance. As a member of the Special Weapons And Tactics unit, he has encountered about ten such scenarios, each operation unpredictable and unique. He imparts these experiences back at base, training other SWAT members.
“You have a specific job,” he told The Epoch Times. “In movies, a lot of times, people consider their lives and families, which is actually inaccurate.” The focus is on getting close to hostages and separating them from suspects to save as many lives as possible.
Positioned between innocent civilians and potential threats, Dodge lost his left lower leg.
Over a million people participated in the parade following the Denver Nuggets’ championship win in June 2023. To ensure their safety, the Denver police deployed SWAT teams. Dodge and his team were assigned to the downtown parade route, where the festivities almost descended into chaos.
As officers patrolled the parade route in all-terrain vehicles, a fire truck carrying NBA player Jamal Murray, participating in the parade, came to a halt. Spectators eagerly awaited a glimpse of the basketball star, who was busy signing autographs on hats and jerseys.
“When the fire truck moves, at some point in the parade route, it was basically a flood of people not paying attention to barricades and obstructions crowding around the truck,” Dodge said.
Leading an emergency response team amidst a sea of fans waiting for autographs, Dodge rescued passengers from the crowded fire truck.
“There were so many people around that [fire]truck, they didn’t even know who is throwing stuff, and they’ll just chuck this thing back,” Dodge said.
Fans surged towards the slowly moving 80,000-pound fire truck, as SWAT personnel struggled to keep them at bay. “People just push forward madly. It was wild,” Dodge said, estimating that 25,000 people surrounded the truck.
The chaos caught Dodge off guard. The fire truck made a sharp turn along the route, the distance the wheels extended from the wheel wells much farther than he anticipated. He was pinned by the crowd against the passenger side of the fire truck, his leg caught under the massive front tire.
“The crowd was so massive, and the noise was so loud that when the truck got my leg caught and started pulling, the driver couldn’t realize that there was a Denver cop caught underneath the truck being pulled under,” Dodge said.
His training kicked in, keeping him alert, yet feeling “every bone in my foot get crushed.”
In a matter of seconds, the driver received an alert. However, the tire spun, grinding Dodge’s leg into pulp before the truck finally backed up, releasing him. SWAT officers applied tourniquets, which Dodge credits with “saving my life,” promptly rushing him to the hospital.
At the Denver Health Center, a doctor made a crucial decision that saved the officer’s career. In the initial surgeries, they attempted to avoid amputation, though it seemed inevitable. In the process, they managed to spare amputation above knee level, opting for amputation below the knee. This marked a different world, a light at the end of the tunnel shrouded in imminent darkness.
Amputation above the knee signifies loss of mobility and many other potential devastations – it could shatter one’s physical and mental well-being, independence, and SWAT career.
“When I woke up after the first surgery, and they had put my leg back together, I was really discouraged at that point because I knew I had sustained multiple injuries,” Dodge said. “Dr. Mauffrey, with his genius, knew if he didn’t try some type of salvage effort from the beginning, there wouldn’t be enough soft tissue to heal.”
On that fateful day, courage echoed in Dodge’s mind. Despite facing dark days while bedridden, he returned to the gym immediately after the third surgery. In January 2024, he received a prosthetic. On May 11th, he rejoined the team, continuing as a fully operational, well-trained SWAT member.
Has losing a leg affected his performance as a SWAT officer?
“In reality, not at all,” Dodge told The Epoch Times in September. Excelling in the team’s “very stringent” firearms and physical fitness tests, he proclaimed to be in top form now more than ever. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, he continues various Jiu-Jitsu activities. He stated he is in the best shape of his life. Former NBA coach Steve Hess assisted Dodge in mastering the key to peak performance: “absolute consistency.”
When not leading operations to save hostages and arrest armed suspects, Dodge engages in children’s stickball tournaments and nurtures delicate flowers at home.
The original article, “SWAT Sergeant Makes Epic Comeback After Leg Lost in the Line of Duty—Now Stronger Than Ever,” was published on The Epoch Times website in English.