In the fight of his life, Carter County deputy has overwhelming support

Words can not begin to describe the thanks Carter County Deputy Brigg Pierson feels for the overwhelming support he has received as he continues to recover from gunshot wounds he suffered in the line of duty.

Pierson was shot multiple times in the chest, groin and leg Aug. 16 as he was kicking in the door of the Highway M home occupied by James D. Cummings.

“Definitely thankful” are the words Pierson used to described how he feels.

“It easily could have turned out differently,” he said.

Pierson was shot when he, another deputy and three Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers went to Cummings’ residence to serve a “court order to remove (him) from the property per the judgement,” according to earlier reports.

As Pierson kicked the door open, Cummings allegedly began to fire, hitting Pierson and a trooper. The trooper was treated and released for his injuries.

Carter County Deputy Brigg Pierson waves to East Carter students as he passes through Ellsinore during his Sept. 13 homecoming. DAR File Photo

“On the way to St. Louis, I didn’t really have much comprehension of what I was feeling,” Pierson said. “I was just fighting to stay awake.”

The flight, he said, took longer than it felt.

“I remember they told me at one point we were about 20 minutes out; it seemed like five minutes later we were there,” he said.

Van Buren police officers and a Van Buren volunteer firefighter man a road block at the end of Highway M Aug. 16 after four officers were shot at while serving an eviction notice.DAR File Photo

Once Pierson arrived at the St. Louis hospital, “they put me to sleep,” he said.

Pierson said he woke intubated approximately 24 hours after the incident in an intensive-care unit.

“While I was in the hospital, the amount of support that St. Louis County and all the law enforcement community up there gave was just unbelievable,” Pierson said. “I can’t thank them enough.”

Along with law enforcement personnel, Pierson said, he and his wife, Chelsea, received support from the St. Louis Police Wives’ Association.

“While I was in ICU, I had officers stationed at my door,” providing security and moral support, he said.

That support was tremendous, he said.

“I wore a hat they gave me every day,” Pierson said. “They have a great, great law enforcement community up there.”

Pierson said officers came from everywhere, including Troy, Missouri.

“A deputy (from Lincoln County) brought a handmade quilt that one of their officers’ grandmothers had made,” said Pierson, who indicated the quilt was one of three he would receive. “The support I got up there was everywhere around.

“Anyone close to St. Louis was coming to show support.”

There was so many coming, “they had to push people back,” Pierson said. “They limited how many people they were allowing (because) there were so many people there.”

Pierson said he spent about 10 days in the “main hospital” before being moved to a rehabilitation facility, where he stayed for about three weeks.

“Once I got to rehab, people kind of left me alone to recuperate,” said Pierson.

Pierson said his recovery was “pretty slow going at first. I had a lot of strength to regain.”

The rehab’s therapists were fantastic, according to Pierson.

“They pushed me, but they didn’t over push,” he said. “They were there to help me for sure.”

Members of law enforcement man a blockade Aug. 16 in Van Buren following a stand-off between authorities and a resident who later was arrested.DAR File Photo

Getting from bed to the walker was “quite the milestone,” Pierson explained. “When I got to the rehab facility in St. Louis, I was still bedridden.”

Pierson said his therapist(s) stood him up on the parallel bars one day.

“The next day, I stood up on my walker,” he said. “The first step I took, I just kind of kept going.

“I walked like halfway around their gym. I regretted it the next day” as he was “really sore.”

Pierson said once he took that first step and “realized I was going to be walking; it was just overwhelming.”

While in St. Louis, Pierson said, his wife never left his side the entire time.

“Her parents took care of the kids (ages 8 and 6) and house,” he said. “Family, both sides, mine and hers, came to visit frequently.”

Pierson was released from rehab Sept. 13.

“That drive home, as soon as we hit Ellsinore, and I saw all those kids and just everyone outside, I broke down,” Pierson said.

That outpouring of support “baffled me,” Pierson said. “I had only been with the department 2-1/2 months.

“I was still the new guy and to have that much support from a community that I don’t even live in was beyond anything I could expect.”

Pierson said East Carter School students wrote him letters, which were delivered by Sheriff Rick Stephens.

“I spent about two hours reading all those letters from the school kids,” Pierson said. “It was very uplifting.

“Most of them were pretty generic. The kids don’t know me, but they just thanked me for my service and were sorry this happened.”

That support, especially from those who didn’t know “me, other than the guy who drives around in a patrol car,” was “very uplifting,” explained Pierson, who indicated “someone upstairs definitely was” watching out for him.

Now that Pierson is home, he has therapy three times a week.

“They’re doing pretty good; they got me on the cane, off the walker” around the Nov. 9 weekend, Pierson said. “I hated that walker. It’s so bulky, you can’t go places. … (It) definitely limited where I could go.”

Pierson’s next step will be walking unassisted, but “I don’t know where we’re at on that.”

Recovery is month to month, he said.

The hardest part of recovery, he said, is a lack of freedom.

“Losing my freedom to do what I want is rough,” he said. “I can’t drive. I have to rely on people (to do that).

“I’ve got friends around here who give me people interaction, so I’m not here in front of the TV all the time.”

At his last doctor’s visit, Pierson said, he was told his wounds are healing nicely.

“Everything is moving forward,” but “I still got a road of ahead of me,” said Pierson, who indicated his stubbornness will help as he goes forward.

“I’m ready to be healed,” Pierson said. “I want to try to get back to work.

“I love my job. I want to go back (to work) if everything” goes well.

Pierson said he got into law enforcement to help people and the community.

The support Pierson has received drives that desire for him.

“Words can’t describe the thanks I have for the support I’ve received,” Pierson said.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, “it’s nice to be here,” Pierson said. “I’m glad that I’m on the cane and can enjoy the holidays” with family.

Pierson said he also is “thankful for my family, definitely my wife. She hasn’t left my side through all of this. … She’s my rock.”