Doctors surprised by Mount Vernon officer Mike McClaughry's recovery

SEATTLE -- A Mount Vernon police officer who was shot in the head last month while responding to a call is showing signs of improvement. At a press conference Friday, doctors said Mike McClaughry can respond to commands, open his eyes and smile.

But he is "not out of the woods yet."

Dr. Randall Chesnut, a brain surgeon at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle added, McClaughry is not yet awake or alert.

Mike McClaughry's daughter, April, told reporters her dad said his first clear sentence this week to her Uncle Steve and Aunt Tina. It was, "I will be glad when I feel better."

She also told everyone to comment and follow her dad on Facebook. She spends a lot of time updating his fans on his condition saying, "my dad has a more active social media life that I do."

Follow Mike McClaughty here.

The 60-year-old veteran police officer still has a long recovery ahead.

McClaughry had been in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center since the December 15 shooting, but on Wednesday was moved.

McClaughry was responding to a shooting in Mount Vernon, 60 miles north of Seattle when he was shot. After a lengthy standoff at a home, officers arrested Ernesto Lee Rivas, a 44-year-old repeat felon who has been charged with attempted first-degree murder.

Two teenagers in the home also have been charged. Authorities said police faced repeated gunfire during the standoff.