Police Detective Mario Oliveira returned to work the way many members of the department do their job each day: quietly.

The decorated detective was shot five times in November, almost dying on Gibbens Street as he served an arrest warrant on a gun dealing suspect. During his recovery Oliveira said he learned a lot: about himself, his colleagues in law enforcement and his community.

Somerville folks can usually put their differences aside to rally around a community member in trouble. But it shouldn’t take a near tragedy to get us to come together and if we learn that lesson maybe we can avert the next one.