“I know it’s a possibility every day I go to work,” he said of his own injury. He struggled to find words to describe Hopper’s death.
Blum was hit in the left arm and side with scatter shot from a shotgun in the firefight Saturday with the man suspected of fatally shooting Hopper.
Blum was kneeling, firing his handgun into an Airstream camper while suspect Michael Ferryman fired back. Video footage of Blum getting shot, rolling over and crawling behind cover has been broadcast nationally.
“It was surreal,” he said, to see video of himself getting shot time and again from his hospital bed.
Blum was one of numerous law enforcement officers who opened fire on Ferryman’s camper at the Enon Beach campground. Ferryman was found dead in the trailer afterwards.
Calls have come from across the country from law enforcement officers and others wanting to contribute to a fund set up to help Blum.
The fund is called “The Jeremy Blum Assistance Fund” and those wishing to contribute can do so at any Key Bank office.
German Twp. trustees have approved putting Blum on paid administrative leave until workers compensation kicks in, according to township Police Chief William Dickerson.
Dickerson said he looks forward to Blum coming back to work. Blum, 32, is a part-time patrolman who also works at Jimmy John’s sub shop by the Dayton Mall. He is married with two children, ages 7 and 8.
Township officials say a full-time job is waiting for him when he comes back.
“I look forward to going back to work,” he said, though he doesn’t know how long his rehabilitation will take. He wore a sling on his left arm Tuesday, and struggled to use it.
When he does go back to work, he noted he’ll be “waking up every day knowing there’s a possibility it can happen again.”
Funeral services Friday for slain deputy
Funeral services for fallen Clark County Deputy Sheriff Suzanne Waughtel Hopper will be held this Friday, officials have announced.
The service will take place at 11 a.m. Friday at First Christian Church, 3638 Middle Urbana Road.
Visitation will be held at the church Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m., officials said.
Memorial contributions to the Suzanne Waughtel Hopper Memorial Fund can be made at any Huntington National Bank.
Also, to allow time for court personnel to attend the memorial service, all court proceedings will be suspended Friday between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Sheriff’s sale scheduled for 10 a.m. has been rescheduled for Friday, Jan. 14.
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