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By Peggy O'Hare
Houston Chronicle HOUSTON — A Houston police officer shot in the face during a high-risk drug raid in the East End last month has been released from Ben Taub General Hospital to a long-term rehabilitation facility, where he will begin physical therapy. Close friends said HPD narcotics senior police officer Rick Salter, 54, suffered a severe stroke days after the shooting, causing paralysis to the left side of his body, but made important strides in his recovery this week, telling his wife that he loves her and asking for some fried chicken. “The fact that he’s actually communicating is somewhat of a miracle,” said Salter’s friend, Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, who has visited the wounded officer almost every day. “His jaw was completely separated on both sides, on both sockets, from the bullet.” Salter was shot March 5, the day before his 28th anniversary with HPD, while acting as lead officer on a narcotics squad serving a felony search warrant at the home of Wilfido Joel Alfaro, 29, at 9338 East Avenue O. Police say Alfaro shot Salter when the officer stepped into the doorway as the squad members forced their way into the house, yelling they were police officers. When Salter collapsed to the ground, three other HPD narcotics officers returned fire, killing Alfaro. Police later found three guns, drug scales, money counters and a small amount of marijuana inside the home, which was fortified with video cameras and burglar bars, HPD homicide investigators said. Married and father of 2 However, police found no cocaine, around which the narcotics investigation was built. Sources later told narcotics officers the cocaine had been removed prior to the squad’s arrival, said HPD Narcotics Lt. Dennis Gafford. Salter, a married father of two college students, has no memory of the shooting and learned of it Monday when he asked what had happened, said his former police partner, HPD narcotics senior police officer Griff Maxwell. Salter loved his job so much that he had no plans to retire before he was hurt, Maxwell said. “He’s probably run more search warrants than anyone in this police department,” Maxwell said Thursday. “He’s probably served about 5,000 search warrants.” Salter was unconscious and in critical condition for two weeks after the wound severed his right carotid artery and caused severe brain swelling. His family learned four days after his injury that he had also suffered a severe stroke. Then the first surgery on his jaw had to be delayed because of a bacterial infection, which triggered a high fever. Doctors later completed that surgery, installing a metal brace and three pins in Salter’s jaw to help stabilize it. Having already lost 10 pounds and several teeth since the injury, he will have to wear the brace for four to six months and cannot eat solid food, relying instead on a feeding tube, Maxwell said. Salter will remain at the long-term rehabilitation facility for at least four to six weeks, then face outpatient physical therapy, plus two or three more surgeries down the road. ‘Still the same as he was’ Doctors are optimistic he will regain some movement and motor skills on his left side, since he was able to move his left arm Wednesday, Maxwell said. Salter’s family declined to talk about his ordeal, but friends said the shooting has not derailed his 20-year-old son from wanting to pursue a law enforcement career with HPD. Salter, who is also a licensed pilot and bought an airplane about a year ago, never fired his gun during his nearly 28-year police career and never suffered a serious injury besides two knee replacements. “He’s got a long road ahead of him,” Maxwell said. “His mind is there — he’s still the same as he was before. ... He wanted his wife to fry him some chicken, and they said, ‘No, you can’t have any fried chicken.’ “He wants to go home now.” Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
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