Nearly three years after he was shot and nearly killed in the line of duty, Philadelphia Police Officer Edward Davies returned to work on Monday.
Davies, now 43, was a six-year veteran working in North Philadelphia's rough-and-tumble 25th Police District in August 2013 when he was shot and wounded during a violent struggle inside a Feltonville corner store with a man who police said fled a car stop.
On Monday, the Philadelphia Police Department shared on its Facebook page a picture of Davies with his son, who is holding up a sign that reads, "993 days later ... First day back to work!"
Davies, a father of four, will be working in the Advanced Training Unit at the Police Academy, a department spokesperson said.
Davies was shot during a violent confrontation with Eric Torres inside the Almonte Mini Mart at 4th and Annsbury streets the afternoon of Aug. 13, 2013. Police at the time said that Davies and Torres struggled over a stolen gun that Torres had been carrying, and that Torres managed to fire the .45-caliber Glock during the struggle, sending a bullet tearing through Davies' abdomen.
The bullet badly damaged one of the officer's kidneys, forcing doctors to remove it, and severed an artery, causing him to lose a dangerous amount of blood. He underwent several surgeries as a result of his injuries, was placed into a medically induced coma and spent more than a month at Temple University Hospital.
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A jury found Torres guilty in March 2015 of aggravated assault, assault on a police officer and related offenses, but acquitted him on an attempted-murder charge, drawing ire from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and Davies' fellow officers. Torres is now serving a 66- to 132-year sentence in state prison for the officer's shooting.
In 2014, Davies received the police department's Valor Award for "exceptional bravery and disregard for personal safety."
When he received the award, Davies told NBC10 that he hoped to "get 100 percent back to where I was before this happened." He added that his youngest son, Justin, helped him in his recovery.
"He's my therapy every day," he said.
