Denver police sergeant Justin Dodge got injured on one of his least perilous assignments: a security detail at the downtown parade celebrating the Nuggets’ 2023 NBA championship. During 18 years on the city’s SWAT team, Dodge had confronted armed fugitives, bomb threats, hostage takers, and other deadly hazards with hardly a scratch. But while escorting a vehicle carrying the Nuggets’ two biggest stars, Dodge felt his left leg get pulled underneath the wheels.
“While the truck was still on top of me, before they even put the tourniquets on me, I was already thinking about what I would need to do to return to active duty,” says the 51-year-old Dodge. He expressed the same goal to his doctor while prepping for amputation—one of eight surgeries he would ultimately need.
True to his word, Dodge rejoined the SWAT team this spring, less than a year after the accident. He is believed to be the first and only amputee in the country to serve as a fully active Tier 1 Tactical Unit officer. In his own words, here’s how he did it.
FIRST STEPS: I didn’t want to be a token. I was either going to be fully operational, or I wasn’t coming back. To be fully operational, I had to pass physical fitness tests and meet rifle and handgun standards, so that’s what we focused on in my rehab.
WHAT I DID RIGHT: I would not let a day go by where I wasn’t doing something to get me closer to achieving my objective. I’d go to the gym in my wheelchair with a wound-vac tube sticking out. Just by being steady, eating correctly, drinking plenty of water, and focusing on my fitness, I made a lot of progress before I even got my leg. Had I waited to start my rehab until the day I got my leg, I would never be where I am now.
A BUMP IN THE ROAD: My rehab team taught me to be patient, which is difficult for me. I would just be crushing it, and all of a sudden we’d find a blister [on my residual limb], and I’d be back in a wheelchair for a couple of days. Those ups and downs were mentally devastating to me. But I could either stay off the leg for a few days and let it heal, or I could push through and potentially make it worse.
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
- Put in daily work. Every single day, you have to wake up with a plan. You have to execute that plan, evaluate it at the end of the night, and do it again and again and again.
- Go step by step. We have a phrase in the tactical world that you can’t eat an elephant in one bite. When you try to do that, it can set you back mentally, and that can set you back physically. So instead, do obtainable tasks every day, do them consistently over time, and measure your recovery every couple of weeks. Start by doing small things, and it’s a snowball effect.
- Use the buddy system. When you work with other people who’ve gone through what you’re going through, it makes it easier to put in the work. I work with a Tier 1 [tactical] unit, and we work hand-in-hand with military units, so within days of my injury, I had 20 guys I could talk to who’d lost limbs and gone back to full deployment. I’m very fortunate my job gave me a massive support system, and a lot of people don’t have that. You might have to put in a little bit of work to find people, but they’re out there.
FINDING A NEW NORMAL: I’ve started a company called Heavy Victory (heavyvictory.com) to provide resiliency and wellness training, leadership training, and public speaking. That’s my third purpose in life: family, saving lives, and now helping people get through difficult situations.
THE TAKEAWAY: Every single day is an opportunity to get stronger.
—Interview by Larry Borowsky
To learn more about Justin Dodge’s story, read our Q+A with him.
