‘My main concern was survival’: Florida officer back on duty after nearly being killed on the job
By Greg Fox
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BELLE ISLE, Florida (WESH) — Zachary Mathews is happy to be back on the road.
He’s a Belle Isle police officer who nearly lost his life in the line of duty last year.
“The best thing is just being back on the road getting back into the routine of what I love doing,” he said.
Last May, he and fellow Belle Isle police officer Christian Rodriguez tried to arrest a man near Orlando International Airport.
The suspect’s vehicle was towing a trailer.
Instead of following the officers’ commands, the suspect put up a fight and tried to drive away, all of it recorded on the officers’ body-worn cameras.
Cameras recorded Mathews slipping under the trailer and being pinned to the ground.
“My main concern was survival,” he said. “I know that if I didn’t get the trailer off of me, I wasn’t going to be able to breathe and I would eventually die. And also getting to my partner who needed help.”
Related: Belle Isle police officer speaks out after being run over
Somehow he managed to free himself and run to Rodriguez to help him back the arrest. But it came at a steep price. Mathews suffered three breaks in his upper back, and nerve damage in his legs – enduring six long months of painful rehab.
But he promised himself he would not give up.
“To me it was important to show that you can get knocked down, but you get back up,” he said. “You never stop. If you enjoy what you are doing you never work a day in your life, and when it comes to this job and this career, this is ultimately what I love doing.”
Related: Body camera video shows Belle Isle police officer being run over during traffic stop
Now that Mathews has recovered and is back on the streets, he looks forward to testifying at the trial of the man he was trying to arrest when he was injured.
Carlos Jerome Miller is charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.
Mathews’ chief said getting justice will be important, but not as important as having Mathews back on duty.
It’s the kind of “work” Mathews wasn’t sure he’d be able to do again, but one that has the second-year officer back behind the wheel.
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