Waterloo officer who was shot in face returns to work

WATERLOO, Ind. (WANE) - According to the Waterloo Police Department, Stephen Brady, a Deputy Marshal who was shot in the face while he was on duty, returned to work on Monday.

Ralph Hardiek, 41, of Auburn, shot Brady, 47, on December 15, 2011 after Brady responded to a call about a couple whose car was in a ditch.

Police said the couple, Julie King, 33, and Ralph Hardiek, went to a home on County Road 35 just north of Waterloo to get help for a vehicle they said had been stuck. Brady found the two in the area of Railroad and Center Streets in Waterloo. Police said that's when Hardiek shot Brady in the face.

Hardiek was shot to death about three hours later, and King was critically injured by officers as the pair hid beneath the deck of a home about two blocks from where Brady was shot.

Brady, a 13 year veteran of the Waterloo Police Department, spent two weeks in the hospital recovering from his wounds. He underwent surgery to repair his jaw and mouth.