Wounded Police Officer Returns Home From the Hospital

SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state police officer who went blind after he was shot in the head while on duty returned home from the hospital on Valentine's Day.

KOMO reports that 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.

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 another 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.