“I’ve already started to try and put this behind me,” Pima County deputy Thomas Audetat told Tucson ABC-affiliate KGUN.
Audetat, the first deputy to arrive at the scene of January 8’s massacre in Tucson, spoke with KGUN anchor-reporter Jennifer Waddell (video above).
“I responded as quickly as I could and it only took me two and a half minutes to get here,” he said as the two stood in the Safeway parking lot where the shooting took place.
Audetat happened to be about a mile away when the dispatcher called for officers to report to the parking lot. Jared Loughner had been restrained by bystanders and Audetat hurried over and handcuffed him.
Waddell asked Audetat, a four-year veteran of the force, whether the tragic incident has made him re-think his choice of careers. “Absolutely not,” he said. “I love my job.”