Family of Gwinnett Co. officer paralyzed in helicopter crash: 'We're still in shock'

GWINNETT COUNTY — For the first time, the family of a paralyzed Gwinnett County police officer opened up about their loved one and spoke about the how the man who's always been there for the community, now needs help himself.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Mike Duncan's family told Channel 2's Tony Thomas they know Duncan may never walk again.

As they push for a full recovery, they are also preparing for a dramatically changed lifestyle.
"He is our hero in our family," sister Lisa Smith said, tearing up as she talked about her brother

Duncan was paralyzed from the waist down after a police helicopter crash earlier this month.

“I have been in shock. I still don't comprehend it. Even now, because he is so strong,” Smith told Thomas.

Wife Laura Duncan said her husband is still having a lot of pain as he focuses on physical therapy. She said Mike is trying to stay positive yet realistic about the future.

“He's motivated,” Laura Duncan said. “The big thing now is just getting him to be independent again.”

But that will still mean a lot of big changes.

Family and friends are raising money online and through a police foundation golf tournament next week. The family’s home needs to be changed for a wheelchair.

“There is no bathtub downstairs, there's no bed downstairs, there are stairs everywhere,” Smith said.

Federal investigators have yet to weigh in, but officers believe a gust of wind pushed the helicopter over Sept. 1 as pilot George McClain and Duncan brought it in for landing.

McClain was also injured. Duncan, though, faces the longest and most unpredictable recovery.

“He will be fine. It may just be a new definition of what fine looks like,” Laura Duncan told Thomas.

Mike Duncan had worked a lot of dangerous jobs including Marine, SWAT team member, sharpshooter and joined the department’s aviation unit two years ago.

His wife told Thomas when Mike became a pilot, she thought they were moving away from the dangerous parts of his career.

Cox Media Group