ENGLEWOOD — Two months after being shot on duty while attempting to arrest a man wanted in multiple shootings, a Chicago police captain has returned to work in Englewood.
Capt. Ed Kulbida, a 29-year veteran, was shot in in the head above the eyebrow and in the shoulder on Oct. 7 while attempting to arrest Daniel Brown, from Indiana.
After being treated at Stroger Hospital for three days, and receiving eight weeks of physical therapy, Kulbida made the decision to return to work.
"I'm glad to be back," Kulbida, 58, said in a press conference in Englewood Wednesday. "It's something I never wish anyone would have to go through. It was very painful.
"I enjoy my job, I like working with the people I work with. It's my career and I want to be here," he said.
Police say they received an anonymous tip regarding Brown's whereabouts. At 5:30 p.m., officers arrived to the home in the 7200 block of South Lowe in Englewood where U.S. Marshals and members of the CPD Fugitive Apprehension were on site.
"We went to the back of the building, members of the U.S. Marshals and Fugitive Apprehension went to the front," Kulbida said. "When we were in the back, I heard one shot. As the highest ranking member, I went to the front of the building and into the hallway."
After being told where the shots were being fired from, Kublida took one step out of the hallway to warn other officers about the shots being fired at the front the building.
"As soon as the last words left my mouth, I got shot," Kulbida said. "It knocked me to the ground. When I was laying on the ground I said to myself, 'You are not going to die. Calm down. I knew I was shot in the head, broke my cheek bone, it's still lodged in the tissue. The second bullet hit me [in the shoulder] and broke my collar bone."
Officers helped move Kublida to the middle of the hallway and U.S. Marshals wrapped his head up. After 20 or 30 minutes, officers devised a plan to get Kulbida out of the building safely.
"They wanted to carry me out. I said, 'You are not carrying me out; I'm going to walk out of here.' I wanted to show that he didn't defeat me," Kulbida said.
Kulbida was transported to Stroger Hospital and released three days later.
Brown, 42, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and another count of aggravated battery. Brown was wanted in connection with the shooting of three people in separate incidents over the weekend in Indianapolis when police converged on a home in Englewood.
Kulbida is not allowing the incident ruin his spirit.
"I'm feeling very good. This doesn't change anything. I'm going to be the same person, I was before the shooting," the police captain said.
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