Officer Danny Golden Discharged From Hospital to Rousing Show of Support From CPD Colleagues

Chicago police officer Danny Golden left Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn Friday afternoon to a tremendous show of support, just days after he was left paralyzed in a shooting at a Beverly bar.

His family, friends, and around 100 of his colleagues came together for the occasion, saluting and wishing him well as he begins the next chapter of his recovery.

“Seeing these people out here that he went to high school, grammar school, served on the police department with it was so uplifting for him. It’s incredible,” said his dad Patrick Golden.

The 31-year-old officer is now headed to a rehab facility downtown after spending nearly a week in the hospital.

“(It was great) seeing him come out with that big smile in his face, knowing he’s going to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab,” said Golden. “It’s the best place in America for him.”

The third-generation CPD officer is now paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in the back. The bullet severed his spinal cord.

Prosecutors say he was off-duty at the time of the shooting and was targeted when he was trying to break up a fight outside a bar in Beverly.

“When I saw him the other morning I thought he was going to die in front of me,” said Golden. “He was going into shock, but Christ Hospital brought him back they saved him.”

Golden’s family said he’s a fighter.

“Hey, if he did four years in the frozen tundra up in Alaska in the Army—he can get through this,” said his dad. “He can do this, he has a great mindset, he’s tough.”

His fiancé, Casey Szaflarski told NBC 5 in a text message Friday night that he did what any hero would do. His family is grateful for the ongoing support. They’re now praying for peace and for the city.

“We have to stop this senseless gun violence,” he said. “There’s too many people here getting shot, there’s too many people getting killed in the United States of America, in the city of Chicago. We have to stop this.”