By Matt Smith
Cleburne Times-Review
JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — Former Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Patrick Geyer went so far as to learn to shoot left handed after his other hand gave out.
“I was right handed and started carrying a gun left handed at work because I didn’t want to retire, and they allowed me to keep working another three or four years,” Geyer said. “I can’t write with my left hand, but I can shoot with it, which took me three to six months to learn how to do accurately. I can write some with my right hand still.”
Geyer, 45, worked 18 and a half years at JCSO and four for the Rio Vista Police Department before that until medical conditions made it impossible to continue and he finally had to retire on Nov. 30.
“He did a good job and was a good deputy, but he finally had to retire for medical reasons,” former Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said. “He didn’t want to, and if he had any choice he’d still be working today.”
Geyer, the single father of four children ages 9 to 15, instead now finds himself between continued physical pain and deterioration, financial hardship and unsure where to turn.
His sister, Tammy Stinson, continues to help as much as possible but is only able to do so much.
“The first thing Patrick said when I called him up about possibly discussing his situation was, ‘I don’t know what this is about, but I won’t say one bad thing about the sheriff’s office,’” Stinson said. “It says a lot to me that they allowed him to learn with his left hand and stay on as long as he could.
“I don’t even know what to ask for at this point. I just know that he’s worked hard and he needs help.”
Several have stepped in to help, Geyer and Stinson said, for which they’re thankful. For now, however, Geyer is without insurance and facing mounting debt on a limited income.
He’s applied for Social Security disability but the process can take months, Stinson said.
“I have never in my life asked for help from the government like food stamps or anything like that,” Geyer said. “Never once. And they gave us food stamps the other day. With my retirement I’m making $1,068 a month and, working for the county, you don’t make enough to much of anything in the way of savings.
“I was a year and a half from having my insurance paid for three years after you retire, but it’s gone now. I had to pay $714 a month to keep it. I paid it in December but couldn’t pay it in January. The county paid it in January but it was a mistake and they’re not going to pay it anymore. So, on top of that, I have to pay the county back and owe them $714 now.”
Friendship remembered
JCSO’s administrative offices were several years ago named after former JCSO Deputy Clifton Taylor, a man who Geyer said saved his life though Taylor lost his life in the process.
“We would meet up and talk everyday that we worked together so yes, we were friends,” Geyer said. “We worked out in the homestead area near Alvarado a lot and would check in with each other while we were on duty.”
Both Geyer and Taylor responded in aid of a Venus police officer to a disturbance call on April 23, 2011. A caller had informed the Venus officer that a man had assaulted a woman at the scene.
A woman at the residence told officers the suspect was “in the shed” and warned them to be careful, according to Geyer’s statement to the Texas Rangers after the events of that day.
The officers approached the shed, which they found to be locked from the inside. The suspect inside ignored the officer’s requests to exit the shed. Officers subsequently opened the shed’s door to find the suspect, Wesley Davis, sitting on a toolbox along the front wall to the left of the doorway, according to Geyer’s statement.
Davis’ right hand was not visible, which concerned Geyer.
“Deputies [Eric] McClelland and Taylor yelled for the man to show them his hands multiple times,” according to Geyer’s statement. “Wesley Davis said, ‘I can’t’ several times in a crying voice.”
Davis began shooting at that point, according to the statement. Taylor pushed McClelland back with his left hand to keep him from getting shot. Taylor then leaned in to the shed and attempted to push Davis’ gun away. Geyer said Taylor was in front of him at the time and was backing out of the shed when he gasped, jerked his head to the left and went down in front of the shed’s entrance door.
“Davis lowered his gun as if he was going to shoot Deputy Taylor while he was down,” according to Geyer’s statement. “I was scared he was going to kill Deputy Taylor and try to kill me. I stepped over Deputy Taylor to protect Deputy Taylor and to engage Davis. Davis raised the gun to shoot me. I became even more certain Davis was going to shoot me and kill me. I shot Davis two or three times. I heard Davis’ gun go off two times while I was shooting. Davis stumbled back. Deputy McClelland stepped to the left of me and returned fire as well. Davis fell.”
The shoot out left Taylor and Davis dead.
Geyer offered a copy of his statement after the fact because he said he still finds it hard to talk about Taylor and the events of that night.
“He was between me and the shooter,” Geyer said. “If he wouldn’t have been there the shooter would’ve shot me and probably others. Because Taylor was directly between us, he saved my life.”
Two years later, Geyer said injuries he suffered while answering a disturbance call led to multiple medical complications and surgeries, leaving him unable to work.
The call involved a mentally ill subject, Geyer said.
“I was trying to get him out of the kitchen, which had one of those horseshoe counters and knives were out everywhere,” Geyer said. “Finally I had to put my hands on him to forcefully get him out of the kitchen.”
In the process of doing that, Geyer and the man fell with the man landing on Geyer and Geyer landing on the floor.
“It didn’t show up immediately but within a few days I started hurting and went to a chiropractor,” Geyer said. “Once he adjusted me and before I could make it home, I lost the use of my right hand. He had shoved a disk fragment into my spinal cord.”
Surgery followed. Geyer regained use of three fingers on his right hand but not the other two and the muscle of that hand is now deteriorated.
The area above his hand began hurting, necessitating another surgery.
“Not long after that my legs began buckling and I got real weak,” Geyer said.
Myelograms, MRIs and other procedures uncovered spinal cord damage and yet another emergency surgery.
“I was sedated through the surgeries, but once you wake up you feel like death would be better,” Geyer said.
Additional surgeries and procedures followed, the most recent being neck surgery in September and lower back surgery in November at which point Geyer was forced to retire. A subsequent procedure was necessary to stem leakage of spinal fluid.
“The medicine they gave me for my back caused fast growing cataracts on my eyes,” Geyer said. “So, on top of all the back surgery, the medicine messed my eyes up and I had to have surgery on both to remove cataracts.”
Rods have also been attached to his vertebrae and the medicine he has to take leaves him nauseous.
Geyer didn’t file for worker’s compensation.
“Since these injuries happened and then I didn’t know about it till after the fact I couldn’t prove that it happened while I was at work,” Geyer said. “I didn’t try because I knew they wouldn’t accept it. With worker’s comp you have to jump through hoops and there was no way they were going to approve an emergency surgery.”
Geyer said he now remains unsure if he should or even can still attempt to file.
Geyer walks with a cane most days and several times became physically ill on Tuesday while visiting the Times-Review.
“Getting up is extremely hard and some days I can barely walk because I’m usually in extreme pain,” Geyer said. “Since that first surgery I’ve lost roughly 140 pounds.”
Former JCSO Chief Deputy Mike Powell called Geyer a good deputy beset by unfortunate circumstances.
“Bob Alford and the sheriff’s office have been nothing but great to me,” Geyer said. “Bob gave me like $400, $500 to cover Christmas for my kids and others at the sheriff’s office helped out as well.”
Geyer displayed several texts on his phone from Alford in recent days checking in to see how he’s doing and offering encouragement.
Stinson said a counselor at two of his children’s schools in Cleburne also arranged for help for Christmas through her church and that the Salvation Army has helped with Geyer’s water bill.
Geyer said he would love more than anything to return to work but has been told by doctors that he will never be able to work in any capacity again.
What scares him most, Geyer said, is what becomes of his children should he die.
“Our parents both passed away in 2009,” Geyer said. “Hopefully, my sister can take them.”
Stinson apologizes to her brother at that point.
“We have a brother between us and he helps where he can and the three of us depend on each other,” Stinson said. “But I’m raising three grandkids and so it’s going to have to be [Rick Geyer, their brother] that will have to take them. I’m sorry Patrick, but Rick’s a good guy and he’ll do a good job.”
Commissioners last month awarded certificates of recognition to Alford, who last year decided not to seek re-election after 20 years in office, and others retiring from the department, including Geyer. Geyer made his way to the podium using a cane to accept his certificate.
“Prayer, prayer for one thing,” Stinson said when asked what she’s hoping for. “Prayer’s a big thing. My brother and his kids are suffering and need all the help they can get.”
Geyer reiterated that he’s not sure where to turn.
“I think the main goal of coming here was to try to get some guidance of where to go and what to do, how to survive.”
Geyer became an officer when he was 24.
“Being a cop is a calling from God,” Geyer said. “It’s not something you choose to do. You’re called to do it. And from an early age, 9, 10, I knew that’s what I was going to do.”