HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Henry County Police Detective Taylor Webb is in excruciating pain every day.
He barely has any mobility in his hip and his doctors have prescribed strong pain killers for the nerve damage he suffered after being shot.
But Webb said it's the pain of feeling left behind by his department that's what hurts the most.
Outside, a police flag hangs by his home. Inside, one of the bullets that hit him sits on his mantle.
"Luckily for me, it's a 9mm full metal jacket bullet," he said of the bullet that was pulled out of his hip.
Webb can still remember every minute of the horrifying confrontation that led to him being shot back in 2019; one that involved a man taking his pregnant girlfriend and her teenage son hostage, both of whom would be killed.
Webb was shot in the chest and hip as soon as he walked through the door to save them.
"My fingers were starting to tingle, I knew I had maybe a minute before I lost consciousness. I was hopping on my right leg and I could see my vision started closing in around me," he explained.
Webb still tried to save the pregnant mother, but found she had been killed hours earlier, leaving him trapped in the house with the gunmen.
Eventually, another officer kicked in the garage to help him escape.
At the time, the department called all the officers involved in the incident heroes, even awarding them the Purple Heart.
However, two years later, Webb said the award means nothing without the support of the department.
"My whole career, I'm always the first guy through every door. Every time something bad happens, I made it a point for me, it was important to me, to make sure everyone I work with went home at night," he explained to 11Alive.
Webb said he's wanted to be a police officer his whole life and being out of work as he recovered was difficult.
He was only getting 60% of his pay on disability leave, and he missed doing what he loved.
"I tried to go back to work - not just because it's what I needed to do financially, but it's what I love to do. I was still in chronic pain, that never went away. But I am just doing the best I can," Webb continued.
Eventually, he said the pain from the injury prevented him from doing his job, and doctors mandated that he stop working at the department.
And that's when he said workers comp stopped paying him anything at all.
"We had our lights cut off a couple times, we had our water cut off, I had three letters of repo out for my truck," Webb said. He added that he can barely pay his bills and almost couldn't afford his mortgage.
To make matters worse, while he said he couldn't get any financial help from the department, Webb explained he wasn't getting any support from them either.
He was selected as the National Officer of the Year for the Veterans of Foreign Wars but said not one person from the Henry County Police Department Command Staff showed up to support him.
"Angry, angry, upset, disappointed really. Everyone says that they're going to support you, make good decisions, and we will be there for you. And they're either lying or they're not being genuine," Webb said.
Fellow officers had also been donating leave so Webb could get a partial paycheck as he healed, but Webb said the department has cut that off as well.
His attorney, Elliot Bourne, explained Webb hasn't been paid a dime by the department for two months, and they had to file a lawsuit against workers comp.
"They don't have to fight this case, they could just say 'we are going to take care of this injured officer who bled for us and put his life on the line.' But instead, they said, 'we are going to try and save money, and force you to go to court and prove your case,'" Bourne said.
The case has been working its way through the court since August and each month it goes on is another month Detective Webb doesn't get paid.
He told 11Alive he thought his sacrifice was worth more than that.
"After doing everything and fighting so hard, and going back to work, and doing what I thought was right, I feel really disappointed and let down," he said.
In Georgia, workers comp for county police agencies is administered through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
They have not responded to calls for comment and the Henry County Police Department told 11Alive they are following state law.
Meanwhile, friends of Detective Webb have started a fundraiser for him.