Officer Injured In Shooting Throws Out First Pitch At Rockies Opener
DENVER (CBS4) - First pitch honors this year at the Rockies home opener went to a Denver police officer.
Sgt. Tony Lopez Jr. nearly died after being shot while conducting a traffic stop in December. He underwent several surgeries and still has one more to go.
Lopez walked to the mound on crutches and then his wife Kristen took one of them while he threw out the opening pitch of Friday's Rockies-Padres game.
"I wish I could have done it without the crutches but it was fun," he told reporters afterwards.
Lopez, who said was a pitcher at the junior college he attended, got the ball to home plate.
As he continues his recovery, Lopez says there "are good days and bad days."
"On the bad days you just think of times like this and all the support and reading cards from everybody. It's awesome to see all of that," he said.
He also said despite the fact that he's a bit uncomfortable with all the media attention he has gotten, he's happy with the outcome.
"It just reminds everybody of why we do what we do," he said. "Everybody's been so supportive and with all the bad publicity we get it's nice to see how much everyone appreciates the police."
