Wounded officer gets strong support from AFSCME family
An incident in Pana, a small town in central Illinois, is putting a spotlight on the difficult and dangerous work performed every day by public employees.
Local 726 member Adam Ladage, an officer in the Pana Police Department, was called in the early morning to a residence in nearby Fayette County that was suspected of housing a meth lab. Officers there had already faced gunfire and needed assistance searching the home.
Ladage, a member of the Central Illinois Enforcement Group – a regional task force focused on curbing illegal drug activity – arrived in the early morning with other officers. When they opened a door to the home’s attic, two shots immediately rang out, one of them hitting Ladage in the shoulder.
“It hit me in the shoulder and shattered the top part of the humerus bone. The arm was limp, dead,” Ladage said. “I couldn’t raise it or anything.”
When other officers rushed in, Ladage made sure to keep an eye on other suspects who had already been detained. A few minutes later, he left the home, seeking cover behind nearby vehicles until a colleague drove him to meet up with an ambulance that took Ladage to the hospital.
Ladage had a 13-inch plate and eight screws inserted into his shoulder. He’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready for active duty in 6-8 weeks.
As he recovers, his AFSCME local is drawing attention to the difficult and dangerous work of Ladage and other public employees. Local 726 President Patty Butkauskas sent a letter to the editor of the local newspaper urging the community to show its appreciation for the work performed by local police officers:
As I'm sure everyone has heard, one of our own Officers was in a very major confrontation this week and was shot! Thank The Lord he will be ok! He is a husband and father and a very respected citizen and employee of Pana.
We now understand how important it is to have training for our Officers. So very important, no matter what the cost, so the cost isn't a life! I personally would like to thank Adam for his sacrifice and doing his best in keeping our small town as safe as he can. His fight against drugs is not an easy one, but we should all be glad we have such an outstanding Officer in Pana.
Just as Freedom doesn't come free, neither does a crime and drug free environment!
PLEASE! The next time you see Adam, or any of our Officers, tell them Thank You for what they do. Our appreciation needs to be shown to all our Officers for this ongoing struggle to keep our town safe and drug free!
I am very proud Adam is one of "our" Officers and my union brother!
Thank you Adam for your commitment! I wish you a speedy recovery! And thanks to your wife and children for their sacrifice!
Ladage says the support he’s received has been “amazing.”
“Nurses, doctors, family, friends, co-workers, even people I don’t know, have been supportive and helpful,” he said. “All the way around, it’s been amazing.”
Ladage doesn’t consider himself a hero, noting that many public service workers take risks every day – and should receive proper care when injured on the job.
“People should be taken care of for the risks they take, whether it’s a streets department employee going into a hole or us going into a building,” he said.