Detective Darryl Hope knows that he is lucky to be alive.
Nearly 10 months ago, the veteran Dolton cop was the been victim of an attempted armed robbery right outside of his Chatham home. On that April evening, Hope says he had just been about to walk inside his house when two men--one with a gun--threatened him.
“A lot of things ran through my mind at the time," Hope said. "My family, my safety.”
Hope said he had a bag on his shoulder at the time of the robbery. He dropped it and pulled out his weapon, but that's when he heard the three shots.
“I’ll never forget his eyes, they were piercing, and I knew when looked at them he was going to shoot me,” he said.
Hope had been hit three times: once in the stomach, left leg and also his left wrist.
“I lost the use of my hand for at least five months just really getting back and it got shot in the leg which required surgery," he said.
A couple of months after the shooting, a still healing, Hope a made special appearance.
At an event sponsored by his good friend, community activist Andrew Holmes, who had just gotten off the phone with Hope when the shooting and attempted robbery took place.
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“I just want to say you thank for the prayers and the well wishes," Hope told attendees.
Holmes said he, too, carried pain from the shooting.
"I didn't want to lose him," he said of his friend Hope.
Earlier this month, Chicago police arrested Deshawn Johnson and charged the 17-year-old with attacking Hope.
“I’m very happy that the person has been caught and glad I was able to identify him," the detective said.
Hope is still healing up. He still has a bullet lodged in his back and one day he wants to return to his career as a detective.
"I’m on the road to recovery," he said. "Hoping for the best."
