Midlands Deputy To Receive Top Cop Award

Miles Weaver says he's grateful to be alive and working. After being shot in the line of duty, he's being awarded for his bravery. The lawyer and Marine Corp Reserve Officer wanted to be in law enforcement his whole life, so when the opportunity presented itself two years ago, he jumped at the chance. In his rookie year, he lost his left eye in a shoot out with a suspect, and now he's being awarded one of law enforcement's top honors.“I think there are a lot more officers out there who've done a lot more than I have,” Weaver said.Weaver doesn't like attention, but now he's one of 17 officers receiving the National Association of Police Organization’s Top Cop award. In June 2002, Weaver nearly lost his life after stopping a suspicious vehicle. “As I saw him, I noticed his eyes, his eyes still stay with me, a very dark look, a hateful look in his eyes,” he said.The driver shot Weaver once.“The amazing thing, from the time I told them I was getting out with the car until I got back in to tell them I'd been hit was only I think 45 seconds,” Weaver said.Despite his injury, Weaver fired back, breaking windows and grazing the driver's head. The two men fled while weaver waited for the best sound he'd says he's ever heard, the sound of sirens.“To know that all those people are coming, it still chokes me up a little bit,” Weaver said.The men were captured and put behind bars while Weaver recovered. After losing his left eye, he debated returning to the force and found his answer in prayer.“This peace came over me and I said ‘OK, I can do this because I'm not doing it by myself,’ he said.Support from the department helped him through the tough times and gives him a reward every day.“Actually helping people right there, it's not a matter when I was an attorney, you know, you file papers. It could be months or years down the road before you got any kind of results and this job you can get results immediately,” he said.Weaver plans to work the streets a few more years and eventually go back to practicing law full time. He'll accept his Top Cop award from N.A.P.O. in Washington, D.C. this weekend.