JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office honored several of its officers for their efforts to get criminals and drugs off the street.
During a Thursday award ceremony, there was one special award given to an officer who almost lost his life in the line of duty.
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“I was there the night it happened at the hospital,” Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said. “Quite honestly, the prognosis was very very bleak.”
It was a significant moment for Officer Malik Daricaud and his family on Thursday because there was a time when his future was uncertain.
“I didn’t know that we’d be here today. It’s amazing. It’s inspirational,” Waters said.
ORIGINAL STORY: JSO: Officer suffers critical injuries after being shot during follow-up traffic stop investigation
Action News Jax told you in March 2023 when Daricaud and other officers were conducting a door knock to follow up on a traffic incident, involving 32-year-old Tyliko Maduro.
Maduro did not answer the door at first. Officers then made contact with his mother, who came to the scene and unlocked the door. As soon as the door was opened, Maduro opened fire, shooting Daricaud in the neck.
He suffered an extensive spinal cord injury. After nearly a year of recovery, he walked out of Brooks Rehabilitation using a walker, in April of this year.
READ: Officer who suffered severe spinal injury in shooting goes home after almost 400 days
He received the Purple Heart medal for his bravery, on Thursday, with his son and wife sitting front row.
“We like to award them with something to show how significant it is to us as an agency, us as a city, and how important it is that they’re still with us,” Waters said.
The last JSO Purple Heart recipient was awarded in June 2023 to Officer Jennifer Johnson. She was given the medal after she was brutally attacked in February 2023 in a Walmart parking lot.
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Officer Daricuad still has a long road to recovery, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing his job. He’s now working in JSO’s real-time crime center, helping to take down criminals in a different way.
“It’s good to have him back,” Waters said.
Daricaud did not want to do any interviews at this time.
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