The hero cop who miraculously survived a bullet to the head had tears in his eyes yesterday as he cradled his baby girl during an emotional return home after 10 days in the hospital.
“It feels good to be home,” said Kevin Brennan, 29, as he sat on the couch with 7-week-old Maeve at his Long Island home.
And his joy didn’t end there.
The six-year NYPD veteran — a Giants fan who left Bellevue Hospital wearing a Justin Tuck jersey — got a surprise house call from No. 91 himself.
“I just wanted to show him some support,” the Super Bowl champion defensive end said after showing up with a stack of pizzas and autographing Brennan’s jersey.
“He [Brennan] was totally shocked. He had no idea. He said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” said police-union trustee John A. Flynn.
The homecoming came less than two weeks after a gangbanger shot him from point-blank range after a foot chase through a Bushwick, Brooklyn housing project on Jan. 31.
Luis “Baby” Ortiz — who showed no remorse for the shooting and blew kisses to the cameras during his perp walk — allegedly tried to squeeze off a second shot, but the bullet never discharged.
Brennan has since made a speedy recovery and shocked a sea of supporters when he took a few steps from a wheelchair to a waiting car outside Bellevue.
He was greeted at the hospital exit by a crowd of cops gathered in ranks three and four deep.
“It’s a higher power that came to play here, there is no question about it,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said outside the hospital.
The top cop said he had spoken to Brennan over the phone several times since he was shot.
“He spoke about wanting to see his daughter, and he did that from the very beginning,” Kelly said. “He was lucid, he was able to talk. In the emergency room that night, when the bullet was removed, he was talking. He was in a lot of pain .. . [but was aware] of his surroundings. It’s a miracle,” Kelly said.
Prosecutors have called the shooting “an assassination attempt.”
Ortiz, who has pleaded not guilty, remains locked up on Rikers Island and has claimed through his attorney that the shooting was accidental.
Doctors removed a .38-caliber slug from the base of Brennan’s skull after he was shot, and the officer walked for the first time this week as he continued to make an amazing recovery.
Kelly called Brennan’s recovery a “boost for the morale of the entire department” and said the hero cop displayed courage in the face of deadly violence.
“This young man gave his all. We see in the [security camera] film where he tackles this individual [who] has a gun in his hand. He knew. He saw the gun. And yet he went right at him and grabbed him, and he was shot at point-blank range. It truly is a miracle that he survived.”
Brennan still faces rehabilitation on an outpatient basis, Kelly said.
Ortiz, 21, was wanted for murder even before he allegedly shot Brennan.
He was indicted this week on attempted murder in the officer’s shooting and faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
Brennan’s dad, Dave Brennan, thanked the police for their support — especially Kelly, who visited his son at the hospital five times since he was shot.
“If you don’t believe in miracles . . . You saw my son. You saw my son walk out of that hospital you saw him go into his house with his daughter . . . that is a miracle,” the elder Brennan said.
“All the thoughts and prayers everybody had prayed for my son — it worked.”