Modesto officer who was nearly killed is now back at work

A Modesto police officer who was nearly shot and killed last year is back on the job.Michael Rokaitis, a gang investigator, loves working in law enforcement, and it runs in his family as his father was also a police officer in Modesto.The son had big shoes to fill after his dad retired and he loved every moment of the challenge.”It’s a wild ride, but my opinion the most fun thing I could do with my day,” Rokaitis said.But that wild ride came to a head in August 2021 after a pursuit that ended in a shooting. “We heard a call that one of our officers in a short pursuit of a motorcycle and we started going that direction,” Rokaitis said. The chase ended in front of a home in the 3100 block of East Orangeburg Avenue. The driver was arrested. Rokaitis and his team went to make sure the house was clear. They went room by room. That is when an ambush caught Rokaitis off guard.” As we entered the last room the suspect began shooting at us,” he said. “I was struck once in the vest right on my chest and another right under my vest that ended up hitting an artery and we had to get me to the hospital pretty quickly.”Fellow officers got Rokaitis out of the house.Even though he was seriously wounded, only one thing stayed on his mind.”My biggest memories were wanting to get home to my wife and my daughter and knowing that I had a job to do that,” he said.Doctors weren’t sure he was going to survive. Rokaitis went through almost a dozen surgeries and spent 14 days in a coma Sixteen months of hard rehab followed. He had to learn to walk.”I don’t know how,” Rokaitis said. “It was difficult.”Monday, Rokaitis walked through the doors of the police department. It was the next step in his recovery. For now, he is confined to desk duty.”The job is different now,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds and if you asked me in December when I was still in a wheelchair if I’d be walking around and wearing a prosthetic all day I’d think that is crazy. I just keep thinking to challenge myself every day and every week to see how much more mobility I can get.”

MODESTO, Calif. —

A Modesto police officer who was nearly shot and killed last year is back on the job.

Michael Rokaitis, a gang investigator, loves working in law enforcement, and it runs in his family as his father was also a police officer in Modesto.

The son had big shoes to fill after his dad retired and he loved every moment of the challenge.

“It’s a wild ride, but in my opinion the most fun thing I could do with my day,” Rokaitis said.

But that wild ride came to a head in August 2021 after a pursuit that ended in a shooting.

“We heard a call that one of our officers in a short pursuit of a motorcycle and we started going that direction,” Rokaitis said.

The chase ended in front of a home at the 3100 block of East Orangeburg Avenue. The driver was arrested. Rokaitis and his team went to make sure the house was clear. They went room by room.

That is when an ambush caught Rokaitis off guard.

“As we entered the last room the suspect began shooting at us,” he said. “I was struck once in the vest right on my chest and another right under my vest that ended up hitting an artery and we had to get me to the hospital pretty quickly.”

Fellow officers got Rokaitis out of the house.

Even though he was seriously wounded, only one thing stayed on his mind.

“My biggest memories were wanting to get home to my wife and my daughter and knowing that I had a job to do that,” he said.

Doctors weren’t sure he was going to survive. Rokaitis went through almost a dozen surgeries and spent 14 days in a coma. Doctors were forced to amputate his right leg. Sixteen months of hard rehab followed. He had to learn to walk.

“I don’t know how [I got through it],” Rokaitis said. “It was difficult.”

Monday, Rokaitis walked through the doors of the police department. It was the next step in his recovery. For now, he is confined to desk duty.

“The job is different now,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds and if you asked me in December when I was still in a wheelchair if I’d be walking around and wearing a prosthetic all day I’ d think that is crazy. I just keep thinking to challenge myself every day and every week to see how much more mobility I can get.”