Never been shot but have been beaten badly on at least two occasions while working as an LEO. Once I was beaten to the ground repeatedly and kept getting up and fighting back despite numerous strikes to my head, neck, shoulders, back and arms with my own night stick. I was able to survive, because I was able to get a gun out of my car (I was off duty and had stopped at a bar for one beer so left the revolver in the car) and the bad guys ceased the attack at that point. I was able to get the gun only because I fought back, despite fairly serious head injuries - contusions, cuts, concussion, possible slight nerve/brain damage, other injuries to muscles such as contusions - I kept getting up and fighting each time they beat me down. The they were 4 or 5 attackers. I am sure of 4, maybe there was another.
Another time I was beaten, I was able to fight off at least 5 attackers who tried to take away my gun to kill me. I retained it, freed myself from their grasp and fired a shot over the head of the gang leader that scared them, and about 15 or 20 others who were coming to help them, off. That probably will prove to be the one and only warning shot to be fired by me for the duration of my lifetime. Next time I am in a similar situation, it will not be a warning. The result, for me, of them trying to take a prisoner away from me was that:
I was diagnossed with a fractured sternum/zyphoid process, blood clots in my lungs and a lot of bruises. Diagnosis later changed to bruised sternum but I had another doc later tell me it had been fractured (it is cartilidge but can fracture as was the zyphoid process) and said the 23 bed hospital I was in did not know how to treat it and wanted me to be at ease with their diagnosis. (Bunch of quacks!) I did not know about the injuries until I woke up the next day with an awful lot of pain in my chest and as soon as I got out of bed I started to cough up blood and clots. Got xrayed later that second day.
The result for the bad guys was: the bad guys all fled to Mexico including my handcuffed prisoner. Cops found him later with blue/black hands due to lack of circulation, seems the cuff closed tight during the struggle. Mexican authorities arrested him and said he likely would go to jail for a few years.
That was about 28 years ago or so - what a change of attitude in the minds of Mexican & US authorities from then until now. We actually used to cooperate with one another. I got my cuffs back after making an official visit to the Chief of Homicide of the Judicial Baja California Norte.
Interesting visit - he had a hexagonal tank on his desk with 4 critters in it. They were all facing off across the center of the tank from the edges of the tank. As I recall, one was a sidewinder, another a big scorpion, another a tarantula and another a horned lizard. None were moving at all except for the rattler which moved its tongue a tiny bit now and then. I figured they were there for prisoner incentive during interrogations
but the chief said he jsut wanted to see which made the first move and which would be the last one left alive. Sort of something that would fit in a Quentin Tarantino movie but I digress.
All the best,
Glenn B