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<I DID SOMETHING I SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE.> Lying in his hospital bed Monday - Patrick Bauer admits he made a terrible mistake by spraying a Leon police officer in the face with a chemical deterrent. <I DEFINITELY REGRET IT. MOST DEFINITELY.> The whole thing happened Sunday in the southern Iowa town of Leon - when Officer John Thomas pulled Bauer over for a traffic stop. <HE SAID HE WAS STOPPING EVERYBODY IN THIS AREA IF THEY WAS DRIVING AROUND AT THIS TIME OF NIGHT - SO I FEEL HE PROFILED ME.> Bauer claims it was around 2:30 in the morning - he was driving home after working at his friend's bar. He says he was sober and not breaking any laws at the time, but he panicked when Officer Thomas ran his information and discovered a warrant out for his arrest in Missouri. A warrant for distribution of meth. <THAT WARRANT POPPED UP. I HAVE TWO DOGS I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE AND IT'S GOING TO KILL THEM THAT I AM NOT WITH THEM. SO I MACED HIM AND TRIED TO GET AWAY.> Bauer breaks down in tears when talking about his two dogs. <CRYING NATS...> He says his love for them - caused him to make that split second bad decision. One that landed him here in the hospital. <THE DOCTOR SAYS I WAS LUCKY. I WAS LUCKY. I SHOULD PROBABLY BE DEAD.> One bullet hit Bauer in the chest. Authorities say Officer Thomas fired multiple shots. <I FEEL HE OVER REACTED WHEN I MACED HIM. HE COULD ...WHY TWO SECONDS AFTER I GOT DONE MACING HIM - DID HE HAVE HIS GUN DRAWN SHOOTING ME?> < ) MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE THIS AND HAVE A HARD TIME FEELING SORRY FOR YOU. ) I DON'T WANT THEM TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME. I WANT THEM TO FEEL SORRY FOR MY ANIMALS NOT HAVING ME WITH THEM.>

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The suspect in an officer-involved shooting said he sprayed a chemical deterrent in the police officer’s face so that he could stay with his dogs.The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said Monday that Leon police Officer John Thomas fired multiple rounds at Patrick Bauer after Bauer sprayed him in the face with a chemical deterrent during a traffic stop.Bauer is recovering at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines. He said he is in a lot of pain but knows his poor choices put him in the hospital.“I did something I should not have done,” he said.According to Bauer, Thomas pulled him over around 2:30 a.m. Sunday as he was driving home from working at a friend’s bar.Bauer said he was sober and not breaking any laws at the time, but that he panicked when Thomas ran his information and discovered a warrant out for his arrest in Missouri for distribution of meth.“That warrant popped up,” he said. “I have two dogs I absolutely love, and it's going to kill them that I am not with them. So, I maced him and tried to get away.”Bauer broke down into tears when talking about his two dogs. He said his love for the dogs caused him to make split-second bad decision. “The doctor says I was lucky,” he said. “I was lucky. I should probably be dead.”One bullet hit Bauer in the chest. Authorities said Thomas fired multiple shots.“I feel he over reacted when I maced him,” Bauer said. “He could ... why two seconds after I got done macing him did he have his gun drawn, shooting me?”Bauer said he understands that few people will sympathize with him and had this to say:“I don't want them to feel sorry for me. I want them to feel sorry for my animals not having me with them because that's all I thought about.”Thomas is on paid administrative leave as part of a standard protocol. Officials with the Iowa DCI said an investigation is ongoing and should conclude in the weeks to come. Once completed, the findings will be sent to the Decatur County Attorney.