Gates County, N.C. - Six months after being injured by an MMA fighter after an arrest, the Gates County Sheriff Edward Webb is speaking to NewsChannel 3 about his recovery.
He said the man violently attacked him and caused serious injury.
Sheriff Edward Webb said, "My knee is aching right now when I'm sitting here at the desk, it's hurting. But you go on.”
Webb is moving on with two screws in his knee.
He said the last six months have been tough after being attacked by a drunk driving suspect.
"I have been spit on. I've been cut. I got scars … I've been shot at. I've been hit, punched numerous times, but this is probably the worst injury that I've ever had,” said Webb, "I was out of work in a chair, basically immobilized for 75 days."
Webb drove us out to the location where the nightmare began.
“He did this to me in a matter of a split second," said Webb. "The doctors described to me that if I was a football player, it would be a career ending injury."
Webb said he was called out for an accident, a mangled truck banged up so badly that it was nearly unrecognizable.
He arrested 22-year-old Logan Pederson for drunk driving - a person he's known for years and even watched play high school football.
"I remembered, I grabbed him on the shoulder and told him he had a heck of a game. Way to go Logan. He's like, 'Thank you. I appreciate it,'” says Webb.
But back in June, Webb said he was violent, first punching an EMT worker who weighed only 120 pounds, then a fire chief. Things got worse when they transported him to the police station in Gates County when he pulled a martial arts move on the Sheriff.
On Thursday, Webb demonstrated what happened as they were trying to transport him through the station and used a martial arts move to knock Webb to the ground, then snapped his knee and broke it.
The MMA fighter is scheduled for court this February.
Webb said the awful encounter helped confirm his plan to retire in 2018.
"Because I don't want to be injured like this again. I want to enjoy it,” he said.
He enjoys hunting, NASCAR and riding his ATV and after 30 years in law enforcement, Webb said serving his county and the people who live here are his biggest passions.
"I'll continue to try to help this county any way I can. Whoever comes in and takes the seat, I wish him the best,” he said.
On Wednesday, the doctor approved him for light duty starting December 1.
He said he could need knee replacement surgery in two or three years.
"I don't have any hard feelings towards Logan, I truly don't. I know the young man, I think he might have some remorse with this. He was definitely intoxicated that night . He was definitely drunk," said Webb. He said Pederson was facing a basic drunk driving charge but now faces several felonies.
