A Phoenix police officer who was shot multiple times in the line of duty in February is sharing his story during the First Responders Holiday Blood Drive.
The drive was hosted at the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix.
Office Austin Peru was the first of nine officers injured in an ambush near 54th Avenue and Elwood street on February 11, 2022.
He says it's a day he'll never forget.
"As I was approaching the house, I was immediately addressed with gunfire from close range," Officer Peru said.
After that, he ran to his patrol car. His body camera was on and captured it all.
“Get in, get in, get in,” you could hear an officer telling him as he got closer to the car .
When the adrenaline finally wore off…
“I look down at my chest and see blood pouring out of my chest, and that’s when I knew, you know, I needed to get help right away,” he added.
“Hey, stay with me, stay with me. He’s having a hard time breathing. He’s losing consciousness,” a fellow officer could be heard saying in Officer Peru’s body camera footage.
“I was shot in my upper chest, along with my right arm and other places as well,” Officer Peru told ABC15.
When he got to the hospital, he was immediately given blood transfusions and taken into emergency surgery.
“Without blood I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
Officer Peru tells us, he’ll never see blood drives the same way ever again. Adding it’s because of people who donate, he’s alive today.
While he couldn’t donate blood due to his recovery, he came to the first responder’s holiday blood drive to show his support.
“It’s awesome to see your fellow first responders here, you know supporting the cause and donating blood,” he said with a smile.
Officer Peru is currently working on light duty status.
He's focusing on getting better and continuing to bring awareness to the importance of donating blood.
“Events like these keep people alive,” he said.
Sue Thew, with Vitalant, the nonprofit that collected blood at this event, tells us the winter holiday season is the most difficult time of the year to maintain Arizona’s blood supply.
You can sign up on their website if you’d like to donate blood.
