Ill. Deputy Shot in Face Back at Work, Will Use Experience to Train Others

OREGON — An Ogle County sheriff's deputy who suffered a gunshot wound to the face in the line of duty four months ago is officially back at work.

Ogle County Sheriff's Lt. Jason Ketter, shot June 12 during a standoff at a rural Dixon residence, has undergone multiple surgeries and attended support group meetings in the wake of the shooting. Tuesday marked his first day back at the sheriff's office.

In an exclusive interview with Shaw Local on Tuesday morning, Ketter said returning to the department is "a bit of an adjustment," but his goal always was to get back to work so that he can give back to the department and the community that's shown him so much support. In returning to the department, Ketter is mostly looking forward to training others.

"I'm not keeping quiet about it... I want to share my experience to help others if they've gone through something similar or to prepare them if they haven't," he said. "We train for situations like that and when we train, we train as real as possible."

For those in law enforcement, June 12 was a day they all pray never happens, Ketter said. Police were called that morning to 402 Wild Rice Lane in Lost Lake, a rural subdivision east of Dixon, with a warning of a "suicide-by-cop" situation.

The Ogle County Sheriff's Office activated its Emergency Response Team, which is made up of individuals from various agencies, including the sheriff's office, Oregon and Byron police departments, and SWAT medics from the Rochelle Fire Department. Ketter was shot during a gunfire exchange with the home's resident, Jonathon Gounaris.

Shortly after he was shot, Ketter was transported by air ambulance to OSF Medical Center in Rockford, where he underwent surgery. He walked out of OSF's main entrance on June 14 after being released from the hospital; officers from multiple departments stood in salute and escorted him to his home in rural Ogle County.

Since then, Ketter has had a few more surgeries on his jaw to remove the remaining bullet fragments from his face, he said. Getting prepared to come back to work has been an emotional rollercoaster ride filled with a lot of highs and lows.

He emphasized that it hasn't been easy and he doesn't want to give anyone false security by pretending that it has been. By sharing his experience, he hopes to better prepare other people for those kinds of situations.

Also shot during the June 12 gunfire exchange were tactical medic Tyler Carls of the Rochelle Fire Department, who was struck twice in the body armor, and Sgt. Tad Dominski of the Oregon Police Department. Dominski suffered a gunshot wound to the upper arm. Dominski and Carls were treated at KSB Hospital in Dixon on June 12 and released later that evening.

Carls and Dominski have recovered from their injuries and returned to work. Dominski was sworn in as a deputy at the sheriff's office on Aug. 5, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said during a previous interview with Shaw Local.

Gounaris suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was treated at KSB Hospital in Dixon before being booked into the Winnebago County Jail in Rockford, where he has remained since his arrest in June. He is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder and several weapons offenses.

He is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Oct 17.

In a news release issued Friday, Ogle County State's Attorney Mike Rock announced that the deputies who used deadly force during the June 12 standoff will not face any criminal charges.

The decision, rendered by Winnebago County State's Attorney J. Hanley, determined the deputies acted in accordance with the law because they only fired their weapons after being shot at by Gounaris, according to the release. Hanley also determined that based on the amount of calls and texts sent to Gounaris prior to deputies attempting to the enter the home, he should have been aware that officers were outside of the home.

___

Visit the Daily Gazette (Sterling, Ill.) at www.saukvalley.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.