Mount Vernon police officer wounded in shooting comes home

A Mount Vernon police officer who went blind after he was shot in the head while on duty returned home from the hospital on Valentine’s Day.

At a news conference before his departure Tuesday, Mount Vernon Officer Mike McClaughry spoke with a strong voice about the “overwhelming support” he has received during the course of his recovery, according to KOMO News.

The 60-year-old has been undergoing treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle since he was shot in the back of the head while responding to a shooting in Mount Vernon on Dec. 15.

McClaughry said he was “overwhelmed by the response from everybody.”

McClaughry is nearly blind – he can only see variances of light and a little color – and has some short-term memory problems. But he has high hopes of gradually regaining at least some of his eyesight.

On a Facebook page set up to provide updates on his condition (facebook.com/officermikemcclaughry), his family encouraged people to line the street of Mount Vernon for his return to the police department, where a private reception was planned.

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Mount Vernon police officer wounded in shooting comes home."