Painful Memories Remain For Survivor Of Dallas Officer Ambush
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It was six months ago that Downtown Dallas erupted in chaos.
By the end of the evening on July 7th, details emerged that would include five officers dying, several other injured and a lone civilian shot in the leg.
The memory of the ambush shooting still remains painful for those who survived the deadly incident.
"There's hardly a day that goes by that I don't think about July the 7th," said Shetamia Taylor, who was shot while attempting to leave the scene.
Taylor thinks about the shooting often because she still feels the pain in her body.
"As I'm sitting here now I'm thinking, 'Gosh it's been six months.' But it feels like it could have happened yesterday," said Taylor.
Joined by her son, they were at the rally against police brutality in Downtown Dallas when the gunfire began.
"We were the only ones on that corner and he turned and looked right at me and he said, 'He's got a gun. Get down,'" said Taylor.
Taylor said the commands from a Dallas police officer likely saved her life.
As she turned and moved, Taylor was hit.
"It's not easy to get that out of your mind and I'm not sure I ever will," said Taylor.
She could only think of her sons. Two ran to safety while she covered another, shielding him with her body.
"I'm laying on top of him as the bullets are pinging off of the sidewalk next to us," said Taylor. "At any time I could have been hit again."
In the time since the July 7th ambush, any reminder of what happened has been wiped away. But the investigation remains open and hours of negotiations between police and the suspect have still not been released.
"Because of him, my life changed," said Taylor.
Investigators believe Micah Johnson is responsible for the ambush.
"Just to think about it, it really does hurt. So it's kind of hard to move away from it," said Taylor.
With the help of a psychiatrist and her faith, Taylor has spent the last six month slowly moving forward.
"I do forgive him," said Taylor. "I do that because I'm a woman of god."
Taylor still has her questions about July 7th.
"I just don't understand how it could have happened? You know? Why it happened?" questioned Taylor.
Taylor said she has not spoken publicly much about what happened to her because she wants the attention to be on the officers and the families of the fallen.
The officers killed that night were Dallas Police Department officers Sgt. Michael Smith, Senior Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa and DART officer Brent Thompson.
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