Meet the Dayton police officer who will compete in wheelchair fencing at the 2024 Paralympics

The 2024 Paralympics in Paris begin today and Dayton police officer Byron Branch will participate.

Branch lost a leg in the line of duty in 2016. Now he is on his way to Paris to compete for gold.

On a recent Monday night, Branch was fencing in a converted warehouse north of Cincinnati called the Salle du Lion, which means “Room of the Lion” in French.

Branch has been a fencer for over 20 years, but he only started parafencing after losing a leg. He has found that distance is one of the big differences between the healthy body and parafen.

“It's all about distance,” Branch said. “To go from handicap fencing – a sport where you can use your feet to keep your distance – you can't do that in a wheelchair because you're already starting at your opponent's distance. As soon as they say, 'Ready, fencing,' you better be ready to do something. If you don't want to attack, you have to back off. If you want to attack, make sure you hit.”

After less than a year with the Dayton Police Department, Branch was in a life-threatening accident. It was December and there was a storm. Branch noticed the accident on the highway. A car had rear-ended a semi-truck and he stopped to help.

“When I pulled up behind the semi, the truck driver came out and I saw him. I said, 'Hey, you need to come to the other side of my car so I can talk to you.' He said, 'Okay.' And then I woke up in the hospital and that's … that's all I remember about the accident,” Branch said.

A vehicle on the road had gone out of control, rammed Branch's patrol car and trapped him between cars.

The most impressive thing about Branch's recovery is how quickly he returned to patrol. He was back on the streets in less than a year.

“I came home on Dec. 27,” Branch said. “I got my prosthetics on May 25 and then I was back in the office doing light work. But I was working with my physical therapist and learning to walk. And I thought, 'Hey, there are going to be times when I'm going to get in fights with people on the street. I need to know how my body responds to that.' So one of our defensive tactics guys came over. I thought he was only going to come over once, but he ended up coming over twice a week for three months and just beating me up. That was actually really good because I learned a lot of different things from that. I got a lot of good training from him.”

Wearing a prosthesis outdoors presents some challenges, such as climbing stairs, but he knows how to deal with them.

“I don't chase after anyone,” he said. “If I go into a house and I know someone has a warrant, I stand in front of a door that is the only exit. Then they have to get past me when the bad news comes out.”

Even though Branch doesn't run at work, he is always available outside of work to help teach young fencers.

He directs the students and fences against them with his prosthetic leg.

Ryan Howell runs this fencing club, like his father before him, and Ryan grew up near Byron.

“I've known Byron since I was a kid,” Howell said, “so he's known me long enough to know when I've been annoying and a little brat, and he has this way of making fencing look easy.”

And Howell says he's not surprised Branch is so successful.

“He's been a great, physically fit fencer for a long time. I'm sure it was an adjustment for him to switch to the chair, especially the distance and the speed at which he moves. But Byron is a great fencer, so I knew he would have no problems and would definitely dominate the competition.”

London Waller is one of the young fencers training with Howell. She is 15.

“I've competed all over the country,” Waller said. “I think the furthest I've gotten is to Phoenix, Arizona, for the 2023 Summer Nationals. I guess some people don't like that adrenaline feeling, but I love it. It's really fun.”

Waller's mother, Casandra Strudwick, says the sport has taught her daughter some good life lessons.

“I think she's getting used to losing, recovering and coming back stronger,” Strudwick said.

Strudwick, who suffers from MS, had the opportunity to try parafencing.

“When we went to one of the national tournaments, I tried parafencing with the U.S. team,” she said. “And it felt like they had already touched me before I even thought about picking up my blade.”

Strudwick said she has also been impressed to see women in their 70s and 80s competing in able-bodied fencing and that inclusion in the sport inspires her.

You can watch Byron Branch and the U.S. Paralympic Fencing Team in competition September 3-7.