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A Chicago police officer who was left paralyzed after a shooting outside a bar last weekend has been released from the hospital.
Officer Daniel Golden, 31, was greeted outside Advocate Christ Medical Center Friday afternoon by dozens of friends, family members and fellow officers. The crowd formed a path through which Golden was led as they congratulated and cheered him on.
“Seeing these people here that he went to high school with, high school with, that he served with in the police department, it was so inspiring for him. It’s unbelievable,” said Patrick Golden, the injured officer’s father and a retired Chicago police detective.
Chicago Police Officer Danny Golden Poses With Nurses (Patrick Golden)
After Daniel Golden was released from the hospital, he was placed in a Chicago Fire Department ambulance. Golden, who is paralyzed from the waist down, was then transported to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, where he is scheduled to begin working with physical therapists.
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Patrick Golden is confident his son will “live through” the difficult recovery process, he said.
“If he can spend four years in the frozen tundra up in Alaska in the Army, he can get through it, he can do it. He’s got a great mindset, he’s tough,” the senior Golden told WBBM-TV. “He’s strong in the military. He can do that.”
Patrick Golden also called for an end to gun violence in Chicago.
“We must stop this senseless, senseless gun violence. There are too many people who have been shot here. There are too many people being killed in the United States of America,” he said, WBBM-TV reported.
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Casey Shaflarski, Danielle Golden’s fiance, also urged the community to “come together” and “work together” to stop the violence.
“We just want to come together at this point because this city is getting to a point where it’s not safe anymore, and we have to work together.” Fighting each other, attacking each other, fighting each other is not the solution .. To do that, we have to communicate with each other,” she said Thursday on “The Story.”
Daniel Golden, a Chicago police officer, has been released from the hospital after a shooting outside a bar last week left him paralyzed. (Tom Hopkins Foundation/Facebook)
The father also praised the emergency crews and medical staff who treated his son’s severed spine.
“Christ Hospital was amazing. They saved his life. When I saw him that morning I thought he was going to die in front of me. He was in shock. Christ Hospital brought him back. They saved him. Hats off to Christ Hospital. I can’t say enough,” he said, according to the outlet.
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Fundraising for Officer Golden’s medical expenses exceeded $1.2 million, including one anonymous donation of $50,000.
Chicago Police Officer Danny Golden (Patrick Golden)
His bio on the fundraiser reads: “Unfortunately, Dan’s life was about to be changed forever by the actions of criminals. While he was out with friends and family, he did what all good cops would do and tried to break up a fight, separating the men and sparing further damage for all involved.”
“The event ended when one of the offenders ran to his car, pulled out a gun and fired 20 rounds at the group as they drove away. His younger brother was hit in the leg, sustaining a laceration. Unfortunately, another bullet struck Dan in the back and severed Dan’s spinal cord, missing his heart by millimeters, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. This devastating, life-changing event forever changed the course of his life. All those who knew Dan are grieving after such a senseless, tragic event,” it said.
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Danny Golden, a Chicago police officer, was shot outside a bar on June 9. (Patrick Golden)
It added: “We are asking the community to support Dan and his fiancee Casey to help with all the financial demands they will face in the coming years.”
Fox News’ Graham Colton contributed to this report.
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