Matias Ferreira, a United States Marine Corps veteran who lost both of his legs while serving our country, is now the first full-time double amputee police officer in New York’s Suffolk County.
His hiring fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer, something he never gave up on even after he lost both of his legs after stepping on an explosive device while serving in Afghanistan in 2011.
"I had a really good support system that got me back into physical activities, and before you knew it, I was just really trying to get myself physically prepared to join the police department," Ferreira told CBS New York. "I had a lot of my friends who were more severely injured tell me, 'Hey you can do this, man. You can do it. Go ahead.'"
On Friday, his wish came true. He graduated from the Suffolk County Police Academy with his wife and daughter smiling from the audience.
“To be honest with you, I have my friends and family to thank for because when I was overseas, I lost so many of my good friends that aren’t with us today, and their families are the ones who kept me going, and my way of viewing it is that I’m trying to do this for them,” he said.
Ferreira, 28, is Suffolk County’s first double amputee to serve as a fully active police officer, and he’s also believed to be the first in the nation, according to the Suffolk County PD.
"Once you lose a limb, you think that your life is going to completely change. … It's really up to you. You know, the technology that's coming out and with a good attitude — you combine those two — you can do whatever you want," he told ABC News.
Ferreira hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams as well.
“I think that anybody with or without a disability or an amputation can do anything they put their mind up to,” he told CBS News.
Ferreira is one of 80 men and women who graduated in the 168th recruit class of the Suffolk County Police Academy on Friday.
About the Author
