Sixteen months.

That’s how long Ret. Sgt. Alan Shaddix went without knowing if he’d ever work again. On June 8, 2012, he was riding his motorcycle in Georgia when a driver pulled out in front of him. The accident nearly took his life.

Nearly.

Both his legs were broken. Both his lungs collapsed. He received 16 units of blood over the 34 days he spent in intensive care. Eight months later, in February 2013, doctors amputated his right leg below the knee.

“I should’ve died multiple times,” he said. “But I knew if I could survive it, everything else would work out.”

Through the recovery, he said he remembered clearly the PCPD uniform shirt he had removed the day before the accident and hung in his closet. He had told his wife, Staci, not to touch it. Don’t remove the badge. Don’t clean out the pockets. She didn’t while he was in ICU – or for the 15 months that followed. On October 2013, he put it back on.

Sgt. Shaddix retired from the Pell City Police Department last week, marking the end to a 26-year career in law enforcement to the day, which also happens to be his birthday. He graduated from the Police Academy on Jan. 25, 1990, and his final shift in Pell City was Jan. 25, 2016.

He was recognized by his fellow officers with a celebration at City Hall, where Chief of Police Greg Turley thanked him for not only his years of service but also his numerous contributions to the Department. He said Shaddix’ knowledge of working with other agencies, his belief in education, and his drive to be proactive for the benefit of the Department will be missed.

“When my son wanted to do a ride-along, I asked Alan,” Turley said. “I could have turned to 30 other people, but I chose him. I knew he might not teach my son everything about law enforcement, but [Shaddix] would definitely teach him something about life.”

Officers presented Shaddix with a going away present, a Glock handgun, and Shaddix promised in return that he wouldn’t be leaving the community. He said he hasn’t decided what the future holds for him, but he hopes to continue educating others in some way. He left his fellow officers with strong words of encouragement.

“When I went into law enforcement, I always knew I was never going to change the world. My mom raised me as a realist,” he said. “So, my goal has always been to win the day. There’s so much of this job where we don’t know, and will never know, the full effect we have on people.”