LOS ANGELES, May 4 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles firefighter shot during riots in 1992 says his passion for his work enabled him to walk again and return to the job.
Scott Miller was shot in the neck as he maneuvered a hook-and-ladder truck through streets that had erupted in fiery riots after a jury acquitted four police officers in the beating of Rodney G. King.
The shooting severed Miller's carotid artery and paralyzed his left side, the Times reported Monday.
The shooter later was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
For months, Miller underwent continuous physical therapy and doctors said he might not walk again.
Today, Miller is back in the Los Angeles Fire Department, walking and working full-time as a captain supervising a crew that inspects commercial buildings.
"Scott has a special kind of courage that not everyone has," said Fire Chief Douglas Barry. "Not everyone would come back from something like that."
