Yavapai-Apache sergeant speaks about being injured in shooting

Sgt. Preston Brogdon, is healing, albeit slower than he would like.

The 32-year-old Marine veteran isn’t “used to being broken,” he said Tuesday, speaking for the first time since he was shot in the line of duty in February.

Yavapai-Apache police chief Nathan Huibregtse said he is “thankful for so many things” after a February police shooting, the department’s first officerinvolved shooting.

It was also the first line of duty injury in the department’s history, Huibregtse said.

“It means the world that one, he’s back on here with us and two. that he’s pressing on. You are an inspiration to me, my family, and our entire department. We’ll be there for you forever,” Huibregtse said.

Though a full recovery for Brogdon is expected to occur in the next six to twelve months, he says the the recovery process has been tough.

“I am not used to being broken. I am used to getting up, dusting myself off, and moving on to the next thing. Yesterday, I tried to put a piece of plastic on my truck yesterday… And it took me three hours to put four bolts. The healing is the hardest part,” he said.

Although one of his goals would be to be out in the field again, he is still not sure whether he will be making a comeback anytime soon.

Details of the shooting

Brogdon and other officers responded to a call for assistance near Camp Verde Feb. 9. As they arrived at the scene near Cherry Creek and State Route 260, a man left his vehicle and shot at the officers, wounding Brogdon.

The man, later identified as 39-yearold Valentin Rodriguez, ran toward the Tunlii housing area on the YavapaiApache Nation. The FBI and Yavapai County offered a reward for information in the search for Rodriguez.

A father and son were fishing when they spotted a body a couple weeks later in the Verde River near the Tunlii Crossing, according to Yavapai County Sheriff ’s Office.

Officials positively identified Rodriguez as the body found in the Verde River on March 4. It was unclear how Rodriguez died. The Yavapai County Medical Examiner’s Office, which performed the autopsy, didn’t immediately return a message seeking a cause and manner of death.

FBI spokesman Kevin Smith said the case remains open. The agency is investigating the circumstances of the shooting and will present the information to prosecutors before closing the case, he said. Rodriguez had been charged in federal court with assaulting two tribal officers and discharging a firearm in a violent crime.

Brogdon, was initially hospitalized in critical condition, but has now recuperated enough to start physical therapy.

In fact, three surgeries were needed to get him back on track to healing. He also had a perforation in his small intestine that released toxin into his system, his wife, Bailey Brogdon said.

“The infection was supposed to drastically slow down some of the healing… so they basically said it to encourage us to be patient with the healing process together because his body was focusing on other things, but his bones will come back together,” she said.

‘My husband won’t give up’

What has kept him going are his wife, his three daughters, and son.

“I can’t give into that little devil in my shoulder telling me to do nothing. I’m not going to do that. I just won’t,” Brogdon said.

For his wife, being able to sit beside her husband through his recovery has meant “everything.”

“He is the leader of our family; the head of our household. Nothing runs smoothly without him, I am very grateful,” she said.

While seeing a strong man struggle is heartbreaking, it’s also inspiring, Bailey Brogdon said.

“My husband won’t give up. He is going to push through and will get better. In one capacity or another, I will be dealing with law enforcement for the rest of my life. I know that the Lord is gonna get me through that just like he’s gotten us through this,” she said.