Officer Charles Hatley of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department returned to duty after suffering a gunshot wound while responding to a call on Feb. 27.
Hatley, a 30-year-old officer in training, has fully recovered, the Coeur d'Alene Press reports.
He recounted the details of that evening, when he and fellow officer Taylor Beach responded as backup to a traffic stop initially made by Officer Kelly Mongan on Hattie Avenue near Government Way.
At the scene, Mongan served an outstanding warrant for the arrest of 34-year-old Curtis Bradley Ware, from Post Falls, a passenger in the vehicle.
Ware became combative and exchanged gunfire with officers, wounding Hatley in the abdomen, before being shot and killed by police.
Remarkably, Hatley avoided a more severe injury because the bullet struck his service belt. In fact, he said he has no lingering pain and did not have to undergo any rehabilitation or physical therapy.
