Family members: Mount Vernon officer 'breathing well on his own'

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The Mount Vernon officer who was shot during a standoff situation is now "breathing well on his own," according to a Facebook page that supports Officer Mike McClaughry.

"Some wonderful news!! My dad seems to have successfully had his breathing tube removed. So far he is breathing well on his own!" the Facebook post said.

Officer Mike "Mick" McClaughry remains in stable but critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The rest of the Facebook post on the page supporting McClaughry reads:

"Also Dr. Kim down graded him to an 11 on the head trauma scale. He was a 9 just on Friday so he's bumped up a few notches. The scale is 3(worst) to 15(best). When he came in he was a 5-6 so he's made a ton of progress in a week and a half. Still not out of the woods but the improvements are major!"

The Facebook page appears to be managed by the daughter. An earlier post read: "Just wanted to say thank you for all of your love and well wishes. It's truly been amazing and I know my dad will be overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. Unfortunately I've come down with the flu but I do have more pictures to share and will post them when I'm able."

Members of the family of one of the three suspects in McClaughry’s shooting say they support him and the Mount Vernon Police Department.

They were at Skagit County District Court on Wednesday as Ernesto Rivas, 44, had his charge read aloud to him by a judge.

"We are all part of this community, we know the police officer, and we support all of our officers here, and we’re just so sorry that something like this has happened," Selena Evans, cousin of Ernesto Rivas, told KIRO 7 News.

Other family members said McClaughry was their D.A.R.E. officer when they were schoolkids.