Injured man still awaiting surgery, justice

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — The Baptist minister who said he was assaulted in Pinedale is continuing to recover, but he still hasn’t had the needed surgery to repair the damage to his left eye.

The Rev. Tom Patterson, pastor of Morningstar Baptist Church in Williams Acres, said he was attacked by a young man on March 28 while he was picking up church members for a Saturday afternoon pizza party. Patterson said the man jumped on the running board of his van, punched him in the left eye with an object in his fist, tried to pull Patterson out of his van, and then picked up a rock with the apparent intent to throw it at Patterson’s window.

Patterson and his passengers were able to drive away safely, and Patterson was treated at the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital emergency room. The case was turned over to the FBI for investigation after the Independent’s police reporter, Phil Stake, made several calls to the Navajo Nation Police asking about the incident.

Reached at his home on Tuesday, Patterson said the alleged suspect hasn’t been arrested yet, but he is confident he will be eventually. “We’re cooperating fully with the FBI,” he said. “This will not be swept under the rug.”

According to Patterson, he was supposed to have surgery on his eye earlier this week, but the procedure was postponed after the anesthesiologist discovered Patterson’s sarcoidosis — a disease affecting his lungs — might cause complications for the surgery. Patterson, a Vietnam veteran, is hoping the Veterans Administration will pay for tests by a cardiologist and a pulmonary specialist to monitor his heart and lungs in preparation for the postponed surgery.

“I trust, and we’re praying, that the tests will be approved,” Patterson said.

Because of the injury, Patterson said he still has double vision, and the bones encircling the bottom of his left eye will have to be rebroken during surgery in order to repair the injury. The surgery has been rescheduled for May 1, he said.