Deputy Scott Stone returns to work, recounts February shooting

After nine months of recovery, an El Paso County Deputy has returned to work after being shot back in February.

Deputy Scott Stone was shot in the hip in the middle of a shootout when law enforcement tried arresting a suspected car thief.

On February 5th, the sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies were attempting to complete a sting operation. Deputy Stone said he was the first the make contact with the suspect, Manuel Zetina, that afternoon.

“We started walking toward him, toward Mr. Zetina, and I was the initial contact officer. I remember grabbing a hold of Mr. Zetina and yelling out, ‘police!’ Then I remember hearing a ringing in my ear and thinking that was a gunshot,” Stone said.

A report released by the Colorado Springs Police Department says Deputy Stone tried wrapping Zetina in a bear-hug attempting to stop him from grabbing a gun, but it was too late.

Stone says, “I remember thinking I have to hold on to him because something bad is about to happen and then I remember him trying to shoot me in the head, so Micah jumped in and we fought. I eventually fell out because I couldn’t feel anything from the waist down.”

He explains Deputy Micah Flick wrestled with Zetina before he was shot and killed in the neck.

“I remember laying there on the ground hearing more gunshots and having my training kick in thinking we have to stop this.”

Deputy Stone was rushed to the hospital where he immediately went into surgery and later finding out the bullet would stay lodged in his spine.

For now, Deputy Stone roams the halls of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office on two feet. He has a cubicle as a background investigator. His main job is fielding applicants wanting to work there, but he wasn’t always sure what role he’d come back as.

Stone says, “I think even if I was in a wheelchair, Sheriff Elder would have kept me around. He came to me pretty early on and said if you keep fighting, I will fight for you so, that was the deal we made.”

In what was a dark time for Deputy Stone came a bright light. He remembers telling his Sargeant while he lay on the floor in a pool of blood, “hey I can’t die, my wife would kill me if I didn’t give her another kid.”

What he didn’t know was after two weeks after the shooting, his wife would reveal to him she was already pregnant with their second child. She’s since given birth to their brand new baby girl.

In time, Deputy Stone wants to end up patrolling the streets again, but it could take years before he’s medically released to do that.