Officer Pearce: I’ll Be Back

Photograph courtesy of the Fort Worth Police Department via Facebook.

FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News) – Injured Fort Worth Police Officer Matt Pearce is out of the Intensive Care Unit at John Peter Smith Hospital, but his recovery is far from over.

“He is completely unattached to any tubes,” Laura Pearce said during a news conference on Wednesday night. “He’s completely back to himself. The old Matt is in there. Dare I say a better Matt is in there. He is a changed man for sure. He’s better and stronger than I ever imagined he was. I always thought he was great, but he has definitely proved that to me. It’s great to get to talk to him again and see that old Matt come through.”

It was the first time Laura Pearce has spoken publicly since her husband was critically wounded on March 15. Pearce was shot multiple times while chasing a fugitive and his son in a heavily wooded area near Interstate 30 and Hulen Street. Ed McIver Sr., 43, was killed in the shootout. He was wanted on several felony charges including assault. His son, Ed McIver Jr., was captured after an hours-long manhunt. He has been charged with attempted capital murder, evading arrest, unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

“He kind of got down on himself there for a while thinking, ‘In hindsight, I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I should have just waited for people with bigger and better guns,'” said Laura Pearce. “I told him, ‘Matt, you had a split second to decide what you were going to do and I think you made the right decision. Those guys didn’t get away because of you.’ I don’t ever want him to doubt himself and what he did.”

Laura Pearce was presented with two checks totaling more than $153,000 on Wednesday night. Most of the money came from the sale of “Team Pearce” t-shirts and the March 28th fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A restaurants. A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $85,000. 17 Dickey’s Barbecue Pit locations donated 10% of their proceeds on Wednesday, according to a post on the Fort Worth Police Department’s Facebook page. Eight Whataburger locations in Fort Worth, Benbrook and North Richland Hills will donate 20% of all sales between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Thursday to the Pearce family.

Laura Pearce thanked everyone who has donated their time and money. “When he first woke up, he wasn’t aware of all of the overwhelming support that we were getting. I told him, ‘Matt, everyone believes you are a hero.’ That has definitely made a huge difference in how he is doing emotionally.”

Although Officer Pearce is out of ICU, he will still need more surgeries. “I’m going to keep fighting, because y’all keep fighting. We’re going to get this done and I’m coming back. I’ll be back,” said Officer Pearce in a video message released on Wednesday.