Officer hopes to inspire others

‘Wouldn’t change it,’ he says of shooting that wounded him

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove police officer Tyler Franks said he would not have changed anything about the night he was shot multiple times while responding to a domestic disturbance.

“I feel like this is part of my life,” Franks said in a recent interview. “This happened to me. I wouldn’t change it, honestly. I can be a good influence and inspiration to other people with the way I handled my incident, and I wouldn’t change it. It happened, and you have to make the best of it and carry on.”

Franks is nearing the anniversary of the May 4 shooting.

He was shot when he and officer Andrew Gibson responded to a 911 call from a residence on West Thurman Street. Franks attempted to enter a bedroom, and the gunman fired multiple rounds from a shotgun and handgun, striking Franks in both legs.

Gibson returned fire, striking the assailant, and was able to get Franks out of the house and immediately apply two tourniquets.

Franks was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center, where the decision was made to amputate part of his left leg above the knee because of irreparable damage to his vascular system. He was in the intensive care unit at Washington Regional for about eight days, then moved to a rehabilitation facility in Fayetteville.

Franks returned home June 2, escorted by a long line of vehicles from law enforcement agencies across Northwest Arkansas and welcomed by a parade held in his honor through town.

Franks credits Gibson with saving his life.

“Obviously, that wasn’t Gibson’s first tourniquet,” Franks said, noting the two had a bond as partners and friends and had trained together and discussed tactics and scenarios so they were prepared to respond to different situations.

Franks said he believes everything went the way it was supposed to that night, the best it could have.

“No one else got hurt,” he said. “When you put on the badge, that’s your job to protect and serve, no matter what that may entail.”

Nickolas Colbert, 43, pleaded innocent in June to charges of attempted capital murder and first-degree battery of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bond in the Washington County jail. His next court date is April 26, according to the jail’s detainee information online.

MOVING FORWARD

Franks, who now has a prosthetic left leg, had his last on-site physical therapy session Jan. 27, though he said he will probably return for more physical therapy sessions after his leg has healed more.

“I’m doing well, but I just want to do better,” he said.

The results of a functional capacity exam show he is qualified for medical retirement, but he’s not sure he wants to take medical retirement right now. The exam outlines what he is capable and incapable of doing, said his wife, Amber Franks.

Tyler Franks, 30, said he has decided he doesn’t want to police anymore, though he is still employed as a police officer.

“Policing is pretty much out of the question,” he said. “I just feel that I’m ready to move on from Prairie Grove. I feel like I’ve done my service there and done the best I could. What happened, happened.”

Both Tyler and Amber come from first-responder families.

Tyler’s father served with the Lincoln Fire Department and was Lincoln’s police chief many years ago. His grandfather on his mom’s side was a Fayetteville firefighter.

Tyler Franks earned his first responder certification as a teenager in 2005 through Camp Rescue, sponsored by the Washington County sheriff’s office. The 2010 Lincoln High graduate worked for the sheriff’s office in the detention facility and in community service, then started with Prairie Grove Police Department in September 2015.

Amber’s grandfather was in fire service for 52 years and worked for the Fayetteville and Elkins fire departments. He started the Whitehouse Fire Department and drove an ambulance.

Amber now serves as a volunteer firefighter for Lincoln alongside her husband, though her main occupation is to be a stay-at-home mom for their three children Shelby, Hudson and Skyler.

Tyler Franks said his children have settled down after the incident, now that “Dad’s kind of back to normal.”

ENCOURAGING OTHERS

Franks said he is using his experience from the shooting and his recovery to help others. He uses his Facebook page to make inspirational posts and knows at some point he will be a guest speaker on the topic.

He recently saw Taylor Brunning, a Decatur police officer who was injured in a car accident while on duty last summer. Franks said he felt God telling him to speak to the officer and encourage him.

“So I went over there and told him that I was praying for him and that he could do it, to not give up and keep going,” Franks said.

Amber Franks said her husband talks about how the incident wasn’t a curse, but a blessing. She’s seen how her husband has gone from a “shy guy” at Prairie Grove who didn’t smile or interact much with people to being able to talk with others.

“He could feel sorry for himself and mope around the house all day, but God has put it on his heart that’s not what he’s going to do. He can use his story to help people,” she said.

Tyler Franks said one reason he believes he’s done well in dealing with the shooting is that as a police officer, he prepared mentally for every shift, every day, and even when he wasn’t at work. He prepared himself to realize that on any day, he may have to shoot and kill someone or he may get shot himself.

“I was calm when I got shot,” he said. “I was in pain obviously, but people are still amazed how calm I was.”

When he was taken to the emergency room, he said, his blood pressure was almost normal.

“I was just prepared,” he said. “I told myself that I wasn’t going to die, and I didn’t.”