Saluting Charlotte police Officer Kayvan Hazrati

About a month ago, Officer Hazrati was shot in the head after trying to serve a warrant at a house here in Charlotte. That incident sparked an almost 8 hour standoff between police and the suspect.

Many worried that he wouldn’t survive being shot in the head. But he did. Read the story here:

Of the dozens of people who gathered near the Freedom Park bandshell Friday morning, none could have been happier than Kayvan Hazrati to look up at a cloudless sky and feel sunshine on his skin.

Twenty-three days earlier, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer had been shot in the head as he tried to serve a warrant at a house in the University City area.

Some feared he wouldn’t survive, but here he was, stepping slowly but steadily from a police cruiser, toward a waiting microphone and a standing ovation from fellow officers, paramedics and well-wishers.

“I’m a lucky individual,” Hazrati said. “I’ve made great strides in the last three weeks.”

He had been released sometime before 11 a.m. from a Carolinas Medical Center facility , and wanted to thank the community and his colleagues for supporting him. Wearing an orange polo shirt, tan shorts and sneakers, the 37-year-old patrolman still looked fit, thanks to the muscular torso he developed as a competitive bodybuilder.

The only clue to how close he’d come to death was the large scar still visible across his scalp.

Reading from a single piece of white paper, he thanked everyone for their good wishes. He asked the media to let him and his fiancée have privacy. And he looked forward to getting back in the gym and completing his rehabilitation “so I can be ready to put the uniform on again and do my job.”

Just like our own NC Cop here at the ST blog, Officer Hazrati 1) puts his life on the line everyday to keep people in the city safe and 2) even though injured, is working hard towards rejoining the police force.

In an age where some think role models are scarce, these two gentleman are indeed exceptions to that rule. Here’s to wishing for the best for both of them.

As a footnote, the idiot who shot Officer Hazrati also shot another police officer later in the day as the standoff continued. That officer was saved by the Kevlar helmet he was wearing. It was after that that the suspect – Christopher Ellerbe – was shot and taken into custody. He waived his bond hearing yesterday. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder.