One of the Texas officers shot in what the force is saying an ambush needs a transplant. The deputy’s fiancée said in a statement that the transplant is necessary after bullets damaged his kidneys.
Two of the three officers lived after the shooting. One of the two alive is Deputy Darrell Garrett, and he is the one who needs the transplant.
The 28-year-old deputy works at Harris County Constable Precinct 4 and he, together with the two other deputies, were on a work-related call at the 45 Norte Sports Bar for a possible robbery. When the deputies were trying to detain a suspect, they got shot from behind.
Both Kidneys, Gall Bladder Removed
Fox News reported that the fiancée of Garrett, Lajah Richardson, shared about the bullet fragments that damaged his organs. Garrett underwent many surgeries to remove such bullet fragments, and Richardson added that doctors had to remove Garrett’s kidneys and gall bladder.
Fiancée Says Three Deputies Were Like Brothers
ABC 13 reported that Richardson noted the three deputies involved in the incident were like brothers. ABC 13 noted that Richardson said they called each other brothers, and they did everything together.
In particular, Richardson said that the deputy who died, Kareem Atkins, was very close with Garrett. The former was the only one who knew when the latter proposed to Richardson earlier this October. Richardson also commented on the family of Atkins as he just came back from paternity leave, and Richardson said she hurts for his wife and the two babies he left.
Because they treated each other like brothers, Richardson did not have the heart to tell Garrett yet that one of them had died. She said that Richardson remains in the ICU, so she does not want the terrible news to affect his recovery. ABC 13 quoted Richardson saying, “This is the person I plan on marrying, and he’s in this predicament. It hurts a lot. The nurse asked him to squeeze my hand if he can understand me, and Darryl squeezed a little bit.”
