Officer shot in face while on duty returns to work after 11 months of recovery

WATERLOO, Ind. (WANE) - A lengthy road to recovery has ended with an injured police officer back working the streets of a small DeKalb County, Ind. town.

Stephen Brady, a deputy marshal in Waterloo wore his uniform for the first time on November 5 since he was shot in the face while on duty 11 months earlier.

Brady said the idea of returning to work was what kept him motivated during rehabilitation.  He spent the first week back on duty adjusting to what could be considered a new normal.  Brady said his experience would not change the kind of officer he is but gives him greater appreciation.

“You always know the potential’s there, but as is with human nature, with more people in circumstances, you never quite see yourself becoming one of the statistics,” Brady said.

Brady has some permanent vision and hearing loss and damage to his jaw from the original injury.

“Most of that, I’ve been able to compensate, get used to and overcome,” he said.

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 14 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.