Shot 5 Times, Somerville Detective Returns To The Job

Policing is dangerous work. We all know that. But Somerville police Detective Mario Oliveira learned how real that danger is last November.

On Nov. 2, 2010, Oliveira was helping serve an arrest warrant to a 21-year-old Somerville man suspected of selling guns to gang members when the man shot him five times — twice in the stomach, twice in the chest and once in the arm. Oliveira nearly died of his injuries.

But about four months later, he's back on the job. On March 21, he returned to light duty in Somerville. And on Monday, he returned to full-time work with the Boston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, where he's part of a federal task force that investigates the trafficking of illegal guns.

WBUR's All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer spoke with Oliveira about his return to policing. And when asked if he had a full appreciation before he was shot for the risks that come with his job, Oliveira had a simple, one-word answer: "No."