ARIZONA NEWS

MCSO deputy reunited with cops who saved his life

May 1, 2013, 1:32 PM | Updated: 2:18 pm

PHOENIX — For the first time on Wednesday, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Ruben Garcia met the two police officers who saved his life after he was shot on Jan. 8 in the line of duty.

Garcia and Peoria Police Officers Ryan Bakke and Pat Shearer teared up as Garcia called them his heroes.

“I’m honored and grateful to meet these officers that helped me out.”

Shearer said Garcia is the true hero and a man he never thought he would see again after the shooting at Deer Valley Road and 83rd Avenue.

“When I left there, after the fire department took over, and this is hard to say, there was no doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t be here today. There’s more hands in it than ours.”

Garcia’s wife, Georgina, was very emotional about remembering the night she almost lost her husband.

“With everything coming back, the emotions welling up, they creep back up on you. But it’s the most beautiful sight to see him with the two men who saved his life.”

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MCSO deputy reunited with cops who saved his life