Lino Diaz
On February 6, 2015, North Miami Beach Police Sergeant Lino Diaz, along with a SWAT Team, was serving a search warrant at a house when the suspect opened fire on the officers. Two bullets hit Sgt. Diaz – one on the left arm, the other on the left leg.
“It’s something we hope never happens to us,” he said. “There’s always that risk. I always prepare myself mentally.”
Sgt. Diaz was immediately airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center, where a team of doctors and nurses began treating him for his injuries.
“As soon as the rescue helicopter landed, they had a team of doctors waiting for me,” remembers Sgt. Diaz. “They wheeled me in. They already knew what my injuries were.”
“Ryder Trauma has been around for many years. As part of our job in law enforcement, we have been in there and I’ve seen miracles happen. We have that experience with Ryder Trauma, and that’s really where law enforcement wants to be taken in case they suffer a trauma.”
Sergeant Lino Diaz
One of the bullets shattered two bones in his arm. A few days later, doctors performed surgery on his arm to repair the fractures and placed a steel plate and ten screws in his forearm. They also removed the bullet from his leg. He underwent several months of physically therapy to regain full use of his arm.
He believes the expertise of the medical team at Ryder Trauma played a big factor in his recovery.
Sgt. Diaz returned to work four months later as part of the North Miami Beach Police SWAT team. He says the experience has made him stronger.
“If you can stay in the fight, stay in the fight,” he said. “I have that warrior mentality. I believe that has a lot of do with my recovery.”
