A suburban police officer visited his station this weekend for the first time since he was shot in the line of duty in 2016.
Officer Tim Jones returned to the Park Forest Police Department on Saturday, the department tweeted, sharing photos of the visit. [[440167103, C]]
Jones was shot in the head and critically injured while responding to a break-in on March 19, 2016.
At the time, doctors told his father, Country Club Hills Police Chief William Jones, that his son may not live past the next 24 hours.
"Their prognosis immediately was pretty bleak and grim, but we thanked the doctors we told them doctors, do all you can and we are going to rely on God to do what he does," William Jones said last year.
And more than a year later, Jones reached a major milestone in his recovery, leaving Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in May after seven months of intense rehab.
"He's defied odds every step of the way," Deputy Chief Christopher Mannino said in May, "and we've been with him every step of the way. When he wants to come back to the police department, his locker is there waiting for him."
That promise held true Saturday, as the Park Forest Police Department posted a photo of Jones, who remains in a wheelchair, smiling near his locker.
