06/27/08 — GPD officer recovering slowly from shooting

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GPD officer recovering slowly from shooting

By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on June 27, 2008 1:46 PM

A Goldsboro police officer shot with a handgun during a traffic stop is still in the hospital, but is recovering, police say.

Officer Clint Hales was visited by police operations Maj. Mike Hopper Thursday morning, who reported back to spokesman Chad Calloway on his condition.

The department released a statement Thursday afternoon saying Hales had "shown significant improvement," but that "Clint's recovery will be a long and slow process."

Calloway said other officers of the department had kept Hales in their thoughts.

"We hope he will soon be released to continue his recovery at home in the near future," Calloway said in the release. "We ask that the public keep (Hales) and his family in their thoughts and prayers."

Jerome Demond Wright, 25, of Princess Street, had since been charged by the State Bureau of Investigation with attempted murder, two counts of assault on a police officer, possession of a firearm by a felon and carrying a concealed weapon.

Wright was also in possession of marijuana, police said.

Wright is being held under $1 million secured bond on the charges, and was served with outstanding warrants for assault on a female and false imprisonment, police have said.

Neither Goldsboro police reports nor press releases have said why the altercation or traffic stop occurred at the intersection of Elm and Creech streets on June 8, around 3 p.m.

The published reports also have not said who shot whom with what weapon or how many rounds were discharged.

The investigation is in the hands of the State Bureau of Investigation, authorities have said.