East Ridge police officer comes home from hospital

EAST RIDGE, Tenn. (WDEF)- After spending several weeks in the hospital, East Ridge Police Officer Alan Resendiz finally comes home. 

“For quite a while in the hospital, He was then transferred over to a rehabilitation facility.He has been there for the last two weeks and has made amazing strides,” said East Ridge Police Chief Clint Uselton. “Today he got to go home from that facility. He was more excited about leaving there than you can imagine.” 

Earlier this month, Officer Resendiz was hit by a fleeing car as he was attempting to deploy spike strips on I-75. 

On Thursday, police agencies from Both Tennessee and Georgia escorted Officer Resendiz home. 

Chief Uselton describes how Officer Resendiz is feeling after his release. 

“His goal is to overcome this obstacle and come back and work for us. He is very excited about coming back and being an officer with East Ridge Police Department and he had voiced that repeatedly,” said Chief Uselton. 

During Officer Resendiz stay at the Hospital, he was required multiple surgeries to fix broken bones. 

Chief Uselton considers Officer Resendiz as a survivor. 

“The fact that we are projecting him to make a full recovery is absolutely amazing,” said Chief  Uselton. “Most people would not survive an impact at that speed.”

Officer Resendiz served with the East Ridge Police Department for more than 2 years. 

And with the progress officer Resendiz has made, Chief Uselton hopes his testimony inspires others. 

“Our Officers have family at home and they went through this with him. His wife has spent the last month or so absolutely by his side every day. And it is inspiring,” Chief Uselton concluded.