One day after two men were acquitted of charges in a shooting that left a Clairton police officer paralyzed last year, supporters of the officer held a rally for him Friday afternoon.

The rally for Kuzak was held at the Allegheny County Courthouse, and Kuzak attended.

He told Channel 11's Cara Sapida that when the judge read the verdict, "I truly think the same thing happened to me in the courtroom that happened the night I was shot. My body protected me, and I went numb."

Kuzak went on to say, "I was preparing for 'guilty' and just wasn't prepared for what happened."

Officer James Kuzak was shot five times while responding to a home invasion call last April. The shots left him paralyzed from the waist down.

"He fought so hard that day on the porch to take that breath, and the doctors didn't think he was going to make it," Kuzak's girlfriend, Cris Okulanis, said. "They gave us the grimmest of all outlooks that night."

Jurors on Thursday threw out the attempted homicide charges against 27-year-old Emilio Rivera, of McKees Rocks, and 19-year-old Marcus Andrejco, of Rankin.

That meant the jury found reasonable doubt that either man shot Kuzak even though Rivera was convicted of burglary and other charges in the home invasion during which Kuzak was wounded.

"I will say this. There is one person right now who knows who shot me, and that's Emilio Rivera. He was in that house. It was either him, and if the jury was right, or somebody else," Kuzak said.

Andrejco was cleared of all charges and released from jail Thursday night.

All along, Andrejco's mother has said he was at home watching television with her when the shooting happened.

"Marcus was with me. I knew he was with me. There was never a question in my mind. I'm glad the truth prevailed, and Marcus is coming home," Jaime Andrejco said.

After the verdict, Kuzak released a statement, saying, "We are hurt by the verdict and need time to heal as a family. Thanks for your time and consideration."

Kuzak's efforts to walk again after being shot five times have been supported by various police- and community-related events.

"To have people that I've never met support me and see me on the streets and say thanks and give me a hug, that's Pittsburgh. I love it," Kuzak said.

The district attorney has vowed to push for a maximum sentence of 69 to 138 years in prison for Rivera.

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