Nye County Sheriff?s K-9 Dep. Eric Murphy RELATED STORY Vote for hometown heroes Advertisement

Sept. 19, 2008, is a date K-9 Dep. Eric Murphy, his family and many friends will never forget. It's the night he was shot in the line of duty.

Just after 2 a.m., the Nye County Sheriff's Office dispatcher sent out a call for "shots heard" in the vicinity of Terrible's Lakeside RV Park.

When it was confirmed there was an active shooter in the park, all available personnel responded. Murphy's shift was almost over when he reached the scene and was directed to search a certain area and move toward the other deputies.

"It was totally dark when I headed toward the guys. It was so dark I couldn't even see the trees," he said. "In fact, I didn't recognize the area when I went back there in the daylight.

"I had my gun out at the ready and was keeping my eyes open for the shooter. But the next thing I knew, I was shot."

Murphy fell from the impact, then managed to roll down the hill and return fire. Other officers engaged the shooter, allowing Dep. Kay Cee Ottenson to pull him out of harm's way.

Paramedics stabilized him and he was flown to Las Vegas for treatment. (For the full account, see PVT Sept. 24 and 26, 2008, editions).

Murphy went through the sheriff's academy in July 2003 and graduated to the street in January 2004 as a K-9 officer with his field trainer. His K-9 partner, Bowie, is a dual purpose K-9 -- a bomb dog who can also track and apprehend suspects if they run. She is also trained in handler protection.

"After I came home from the hospital, Sheriff DeMeo was at my house every day for a week. He'd spend three or four hours at a time just to make sure me and my family had everything we needed," said Murphy. "Capt. Becht and Assistant Sheriff Marshall did the same thing.

"The whole agency was there for my family while I was in the hospital and afterwards. For the first two weeks, everyone was bringing food and making sure my wife didn't have to do anything but concentrate on helping me get well."

Murphy credits his training for his survival. "If I didn't have the academy training and recertification each year, plus training on the shooting range, I wouldn't be standing here," he said.

"It's just like the sheriff said: 'Don't give up.' You keep on fighting. Now that I teach other guys, that's the same thing I tell them. I can say I did my best. The sheriff does the best he can to make sure we are trained. Our new simulator is going to save lives.

"I don't want my captain to ever have to do again what he did that night," reflected Murphy. "He had to go knock on my door and tell my wife I was shot."

Cyndi Murphy said her husband was due home about 2 a.m. that night, but he had told her earlier he had paperwork to complete after his shift. She went to bed just before 3 a.m. then heard a knock on the door.

"I thought for a moment that Eric had forgotten his keys," she said. "But when I opened the door, Capt. Becht was standing there with tears in his eyes. When he told me my husband had been shot, my legs collapsed. The captain kept asking me if I wanted to sit on the couch, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get up if I did that. I had to talk to my kids and I had phone calls to make.

"The sheriff picked me up and took me to the hospital in Vegas," she said. "The Metro (police) guys were awesome. There were 14 cops at the hospital when we got there."

According to Murphy, "People say I went above and beyond, but in my opinion, it's my agency that went above and beyond by constantly checking on me and my wife and my kids. We are a large agency but we have a smalltown feeling. Everybody in the agency is family."

Despite the pain of his of recovery and the trauma his wife and teenage children were put through, Murphy said of the shooter, "I don't hold any ill will toward him at all."