Almost 1 year since being shot 4 times, Rice County undersheriff back on job

Approaching one year after

Rice County Undersheriff Chad Murphy says he's lucky to be alive as he returns to service for the first time since it happened

Murphy returned to work Monday, following about 10 months of recovery.

"I knew I was going to live, but there for an hour or two, it was touch and go," Murphy says of injuries he suffered in response to an April 30, 2019 standoff in Rice County. "Nobody really knew for sure how much damage was done."

He was shot in his left shoulder, his hip his back and his neck.

During his recovery, one doctor tried to prepare Murphy for the worst from his extensive injuries.

"He said my career in law enforcement would be over," Murphy says. "That was a gut punch."

He used that unfavorable prognosis as motivation. Fast forward about 10 months, he's walking back into the sheriff's office, ready to get back to work.

For now, Murphy says he's focused on catching up on what he's missed in his time recovering. Next week, he says he'll start patrolling again. He says he couldn't have reached this point without his family, friends and coworkers.

"Without them, I wouldn't be back here in 10 months," he says. "Because of them, my will to survive and come back was even stronger."

Murphy looks forward to protecting the community that supported him in his recovery.