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Fort Bend County deputy speaks out after being shot
More than a year after the attack, Deputy Jason Bulman is still in recovery. He says seeing the recent tragedies of his fellow officers losing their lives responding to domestic calls is triggering for him.
A Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputy was shot multiple times while responding to a domestic violence call in October of last year. On Tuesday, Deputy Jason Bulman spoke out exclusively to FOX 26 for the first time since that near-death incident.
“It was a female calling dispatch saying, ‘my boyfriend’s trying to kill me. He's got a gun.' She hangs up and they can't get her back,’” Bulman said.
Bulman vividly remembers the domestic violence call he and his partner responded to in October of last year. It was 4:30 in the morning when they pulled up to the Orchard Lake Estates neighborhood in Sugar Land and heard screaming from inside. But as they climbed up the stairs, he and his partner were ambushed.
“He started with a pistol, then he went to a rifle. He’s shooting back. We're shooting back. He's upstairs. We're downstairs. I tell my partner, just get out. Just get out of the house,” Bulman said.
Once outside, Bulman realized he'd been shot multiple times. The 41-year-old was grazed by two bullets on his chin. A third struck his calf, rupturing an artery, causing him to lose a lot of blood as they waited for backup.
“Due to us not having as many folks on patrol, it was about seven or eight minutes before anybody got there,” Bulman said.
SWAT later showed up and the situation ended when the suspect took his own life, according to investigators.
Bulman couldn't return to work for nearly six months.
“One round went through here (calf). Some of the shrapnel came out and the rest of it is still inside,” Bulman said.
After his injury, the Air Force Veteran transferred over to the helicopter unit.
More than a year later, his recovery process is ongoing. He now has to wear compression socks every day to keep the swelling in his leg down.
“It swells up to pretty good proportions. Besides the swelling, I’ve got numbness in my foot which I’ve just kind of gone with. I have a brace I have to wear at night,” said Bulman.
The 13-year veteran said seeing fellow officers lose their lives over the same type of call that nearly killed him is triggering.
“Kinda makes you think. You know, it happened to me and I had it close, but these two officers didn’t get so fortunate," he said. “Domestic violence calls are extremely dangerous. They're probably some of the worst calls we go to because everybody's emotions are high. You're going to somebody's house."
He adds that he feels like he constantly has to have his guard up.
He said a part of him feels guilty that he can't do more to help.
“I kind of feel bad being over here and all my guys are still out there. Part of me feels like I’m letting them down,” said Bulman.
Bulman said he occasionally fills in on patrol because he misses being out in the streets. He hopes to one day return to that full time.