Mount Vernon police officer showing signs of improvement
Dec 23, 2016, 2:35 PM | Updated: 3:40 pm
Mike McClaughry was shot in the line of duty in Mount Vernon on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. (Mount Vernon Police)
(Mount Vernon Police)
A Mount Vernon Officer who was shot in the head while canvassing a neighborhood last week is showing signs of improvement.
“We consider him in stable condition, but critical,” said Doctor Louis Kim, Chief of neurological surgery at Harborview Medical Center.
Related: Officer shot in line of duty hailed as community leader
“He is showing signs of incremental improvement over the time that he’s been here, which is extremely encouraging but we remain on a day-by-day basis,” Kim said.
Officer Mike “Mick” McClaughry, 60, was shot while approaching a home after a reported shooting at an intersection in Mount Vernon. McClaughry was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after he was stabilized at Skagit Valley Hospital for a gunshot wound to the head.
The suspected shooter, Ernesto Rivas, is held on $1 million bail and is waiting to be formally charged.
McClaughry’s daughter, April McClaughry, sat alongside Doctor Kim at Harborview on Friday to answer questions about her father.
“Nobody wants to receive this call,” she said after a heartfelt thank you to all of the thousands of people who have showed support for Officer McClaughry and his family.
April told the media that she and her family will spend Christmas alongside her dad in the hospital.
She said her father is a humble man and it wasn’t until this tragedy that she understood what a huge impact he has had on the Mount Vernon community with involvement in the police department and activities like Scouts.
April told the media that her father is actually 60 years old, not 61 like originally reported. His birthday is in March and he was only a few years from retirement.
“After so many years on the force you don’t think about your dad being in danger. … you just become numb to those types of things.”
April said she’s confident her dad will pull through this and be home soon.
“He’s a fighter.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help out McClaughry and his family. Emails of support can be sent through Haborview’s website. Simply type “Mount Vernon Police Officer.”
April has also set up a Facebook page where you can send message of support and find out how her dad is doing.
KIRO Radio’s newsdesk contributed to this report.
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