The Trenton Times published the following article on March 4, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
President Obama to honor two Trenton cops shot in ambush, one officer returns to work
By Alex Zdan/The Times
on March 04, 2014 at 6:30 AM, updated March 04, 2014 at 6:35 AMTRENTON — By his own admission, Detective James Letts likes to stay out of the spotlight. For the next few months, that isn’t going to be easy.
Letts returned to work at Trenton Police Headquarters yesterday morning, nearly six months after he was shot in a gunfight that left him wounded in the shoulder and side. Detective Edgar Rios, who was beside Letts when the two were ambushed as they escorted a domestic violence victim back home to Hobart Avenue, was shot as well, suffered serious injuries and is still recovering at home. The officers fired back and killed their attacker.
After a long recovery at home, Letts is back on the job at full capacity and has returned to his previous assignment.
After a long recovery at home, Letts is back on the job at full capacity and has returned to his previous assignment.
Yesterday, he tried to settle back into his work in the department’s Special Victims Unit amid congratulations and back-slapping from his colleagues. Letts said it’s a different feeling from what he’s used to.
“I mean, people want to come up and shake your hand and say, ‘How’re you doing?’” Letts said. “I was just like, no attention before. So it’s out of the ordinary. I was just doing my job.”
For his bravery that August day, Letts will be honored as the department’s Officer of the Year in April. Rios has already won that award in 2007 and is ineligible to receive it again, but his name will be on the program as an honorable mention. The two will also receive the Police Athletic League “PAL of the Year” award later that same month.