MESA, AZ — A DPS trooper shot in the line of duty joined a fundraiser of supporters looking to help him recover.
Nearly everyone who knows Trooper Sean Harkins is grateful to lay eyes on him, these days.
During a traffic stop on June 19, Trooper Harkins's body camera caught the moment troopers are trained for but hope they never have to face.
Harkins was shot in the leg by a suspect who drove off. Which led to a rolling shootout with police before the suspect crashed into a wall.
The suspect would later be found dead with a gunshot wound.
Body camera showed Harkins reaching for a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, while still being able to give a description of the suspect to another responding officer.
”I think I told my daughter that day, it was the worst dead leg ever,” he said when asked what it was like getting shot.
A month and a half since taking a shot to the thigh with an exit wound, Harkins says the recovery hasn’t been easy.
“Seems like it was never going to get better,” he said.
The community coming out to a local restaurant in Mesa to try and make it easier.
During the benefit, a live band played free of charge. A portion of restaurant earnings, an ice cream truck and a raffle will go towards Harkins' recovery which was organized by the MASA project of Arizona.
Harkins says he has every intention to return to the force once he is fully healed.
ABC15 asked Harkins if he feels different about his job ever since he took a bullet.
”As far as the job itself and what that entails, there’s nothing changed about that. I still believe we do good,” said Harkins.
He says without the opportunity to make overtime, the life he wants to give his wife and two kids can be a challenge since he hasn’t been on patrol.
Tuesday night showed Harkins there's more help out there.
“You realize this is why you do it, or at least this is why I do it. If I can help make a difference in some small little way, everyone else says 'hey I appreciate it', then I feel like it's worth it,” he said.
