Last police officer shot in DeKalb County speaks to NewsChannel 15

AUBURN, Ind. (WANE) - AUBURN, Ind. (WANE) - The last police officer in DeKalb County to be shot and wounded while on duty was Ed McDonald.  He was shot in the stomach in November of 1973.

McDonald spoke to NewsChannel 15 on Friday.  He said this week's shooting brings back memories that rarely go away.

"Brings back some rather emotional and deep thoughts," said McDonald.  "What happened to me, and what has happened to Steve, and his family down the road.  It's not something that happens and you forget about immediately and never remember.  The emotions come back, rather vividly."

McDonald said he remembers the day, the day of the week, and the time of incident.

McDonald served as a police officer in Auburn for 20 years.  He retired in 1993.

The following has been provided by the KPC News :

The last shooting that wounded a police officer on duty in DeKalb County happened 38 years ago.

On Nov. 15, 1973, Auburn Police Officer Ed McDonald investigated a report of someone going through cars and breaking into apartments on North Indiana Avenue.

“I spotted a person, jumped out to confront him and got confronted,” McDonald recalled in an 2009 interview about the incident.

The suspect fired a bullet that bent a metal button and tore the zipper of McDonald’s jacket before it entered his stomach.

“I got back into the car, called and said I was shot,” McDonald said.

Other officers found the shooter a block from where McDonald was shot. In an exchange of gunfire, officers wounded the suspect in the shoulder. He was arrested and later convicted.

Surgeons treating McDonald removed his right kidney, which was damaged by the bullet that hit him. He stayed in the intensive care unit for a short while and went back to work part-time just before Christmas. He resumed full-time duty after the first of the year.

McDonald said his experience didn’t really change his attitude about police work.

“The memory is all there, but I never worried about a similar situation. I have very little fear. I’ve never been afraid of anything, really,” he said in 2009. “Maybe it made me a little more cautious in approaching people.”

After McDonald’s injury, the Auburn Police Department bought bullet-proof vests for officers. McDonald said he wore it infrequently, except during drug raids and other tense situations.