John Taylor isn't haunted by nightmares.

The only demons chasing him since he was shot on Interstate 95 in November are self invited ones that have helped make him a better and stronger officer than he was on that day.

Taylor, after months of rehabilitation and physical training, returned to work Monday after working light duty.

“It's great,” he said today of his return. “It's something I've looked forward to for so long.”

Working the desk as he watched other officers doing the things he loved made him antsy. “I had to stay here in the office and not be able to assist.”

His desk job consisted of odds and ends, helping with paperwork and researching criminal backgrounds.

Captain Andy Jackson said Taylor's absence from the streets was missed. “We missed him a lot. We're already working with the bare minimum number of employees. When we're short, we can tell it.”

Taylor talks with Chris Woodruff, middle, and Jackson.

On Monday Taylor was handed a stack of cases by Detective Jeff Baggett. “It felt normal like this is what I'm supposed to be doing.”

There are no dreams of November 17 when he stopped a car for following too closely and was shot in the neck, wrist, lower abdomen under his vest and one squarely in the vest.

“People think I'm crazy when I say it. I know it sounds crazy, but it's been a very positive experience. It makes you appreciate the things in life you have. It kind of reaffirms what you do. It also gives you the opportunity to better yourself. It gives you the motivation to make you stronger and better than you were before. You can't wish you never had a bad experience. It's how you deal with the bad experience.”

One of the things that helped Taylor was a 1946 book by Victor Frankl called Man's Search for Meaning, which chronicles his experience in a concentration camp and how he found reason to live. “It's about how everyone has a cross to bear. It's easy to sit and become depressed. You have to use it to make yourself a better person.”

Jackson said Taylor's experience has lauded him numerous awards, the most recent one coming from the state Narcotics Enforcement Officer's Association, in which he was awarded a commendation of valor as officer of the year. “It was not because he was shot, but because he came back to work in spite of it.”

Taylor had no omens on the day he was shot. “I think all law enforcement officers do it. It's like a fireman running into a burning building.”

He said law enforcement officers must throw themselves into dangerous situations. “If you're not willing to do that, you're probably not going to be in law enforcement.”

Taylor has spent some 70 hours doing physical therapy to be able to come back. “When I was on light duty I would do the exercises they showed me to do.”

Said Jackson: “I've watched him graduate from doing different grades of clay, from the real easy to the real hard. It was like watching a baby learn to walk and then run.”

Taylor will be returning to the highway where he was shot, Jackson confirmed. “You can't let the bullet bully you. John has found out that if he lets fear take over his life, then, in essence, you're letting them bully you around.”