DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12

Family Matters
His wife Amanda Holloway
was home with their two girls
when she got the phone call.
When she turned on Main Street
and saw the street covered with
police cars, she knew that wasn’t
a good sign. All she could do
was wait while doctors worked
on his injuries.
“The bullet hit right here on
my temple, and traveled underneath
the skin and then came out
here,” Thadeu recalled. Recovery
has been a long, difficult, and
ongoing process. Holloway said
he is still dealing with a traumatic
brain injury, memory issues
and headaches. He also has
trouble finding words, has ringing
in his ear and some hearing,
as well as vision loss.
Law enforcement has always
been a part of Thadeu and
Amanda’s life. She started as a
dispatcher 19 years ago and now
works in the administrative office
at the Huber Heights (Ohio)
Police Division. Thadeu joined
the National Guard in high school
and got deployed three times.
He spent nine years as a Dayton
police officer. “In January 2022 I
actually fought with my doctors
to at least go back to work, they
wanted me stay off work a little
longer and I couldn’t stay off,” he
said. He’s now on light duty, 20
hours a week.
In the meantime, his memories
have brought him back to the
night of the shooting every time
an officer in our area has been
shot on the job. “Definitely brings
back the night of my shooting,
makes me feel guilty that I survived
and some of them didn’t,
and it just makes me realize how
dangerous being a police officer
is,” Thadeu said. For now, he is
focusing on his family. “My goal
is to just be able to take care of
my family, whatever that entails,
you know whether it’s going
back out to the streets or going
a different avenue, I just want to
make sure I’m still here, still able
to take care of my family for you
know a long time,” he said.
Help on the
Homefront
Although Officer Holloway
has now returned to light duty,
the last few months have been
a challenging period of time in
which the main focus continues
to be primarily on recovery. The
inability to work clearly impacted
everyday needs. One of those
needs included a new roof which
was out of question, until now.
Thanks to DryTech Exteriors
‘Roofs For Troops’ program, construction
on his new roof went
from start to finish in one day.
“I’m not a veteran because I
want accolades, I didn’t become
a cop to get accolades,” Officer
Holloway said. “Unfortunately,
what happened with me as a
police officer was a tragic incident…The
fact that there’s a
company out there willing to
show their appreciation for that
is awesome.” Officer Holloway
was selected out of 100 nominees.
“So many heroes in our community,
you just don’t realize
the stories that they carry of
their service and sacrifice to our
country,” Allie Hosler, co-owner
of DryTech Exteriors, said. “To
also be a police officer, who
was shot in the head in the line
of duty, we owe him so much.
Putting a roof over his head is
the least we can do.” Brad Hosler,
who co-owns the company
alongside his wife, said that
Officer Holloway’s new roof is
expected to last thirty years.
Awards and
Recognition
Just a few days after his release
from the hospital, Officer
Thadeu Holloway attended the
Annual Montgomery County
(Ohio) Law Enforcement Memorial
Ceremony which honors the
40 officers county-wide who
have died in the line of duty.
Along with honoring those officer’s
sacrifices, those in attendance
also took time to speak
with Holloway. “Haven’t we just
witnessed in these last days the
transformation of tragedy into
triumph?” Keynote speaker Dr.
Col. Kathy Platoni asked during
her speech. “This, Officer Holloway,
is what valor, courage and
true heroism look like.” In addition,
the Montgomery County Association
of Police Chiefs named
him officer of the year.
The officers and those in attendance
gave Holloway a round
of applause and many took time
after the ceremony to greet him
and wish him well. “The officer
fell to the ground and immediately
re-turned fire with five
rounds, striking the suspect multiple
times. Despite his injuries,
the officer was able to effectively
request assistance for himself
and the wounded suspect,” Interim
Director and Chief Matt Carper
said. “The officer also provided
for the safety of witnesses
and bystanders by directing them
to a place of safety.” Carper said
64 The BLUES The BLUES 65