ST. LOUIS — One week to the day after St. Louis Police Officer Colin Ledbetter nearly died during a shooting, his father released a picture of him to 5 On Your Side sitting in a chair inside his hospital room eating a popsicle.
“People deserve to know what they’re praying for and what these men and women do, not just the cops, but the EMTs and trauma teams every day,” Steve Ledbetter wrote to 5 On Your Side.
Ledbetter, 25, and his partner, Officer Nathan Spiess, 28, were shot on Jan. 26 following a pursuit with a homicide suspect. Ledbetter was shot twice, once in the groin and once in the foot. One of the bullets struck him in the femoral artery, nearly killing him.
“Our prayers give thanks for the incredible progress of the last week,” Steve Ledbetter wrote. “It was only seven days ago we were driving 100 mph with an escort to get to the hospital to possibly have a final moment with him.
“Now we’re humbled by all of this. By all of you. And thinking about all of this.”
Spiess was shot in the leg. The bullet shattered his femur and he had to have surgery in which doctors put in a rod and several screws. He was released from the hospital Sunday and came home with a police escort.
Spiess said his thoughts are never far from his partner.
"I wish I could be there fighting with him," he wrote in response to questions from 5 On Your Side.
Ledbetter’s father called his son’s recovery so far a “miracle,” and added it's still too early to tell what his son's long-term prognosis will be.
His organs seem to be functioning, and he is “impatient and annoyed,” that he can’t have water, food or get up and walk as he continues to be tested for his swallowing abilities and has a lot of healing left to do, according to his father.
“It’s an amazing thing to see trauma and ICU doctors and nurses excited,” Steve Ledbetter wrote. “The smiles when they speak to us betray their professionalism.
The officer's father also shared a video of him in the hospital. It shows staff members helping Ledbetter get out of bed and into a chair.
“They are surprised daily by Colin’s progress. That’s their own words. And that’s something. Our boy continues to outrun any expectations. We remain very optimistic but know there’s still a lot of healing to do.”
He’s held and squeezed his mother’s hand and gave her a hug.
Steve Ledbetter also shared a touching moment between his family and the wife of an officer who was shot in the head by a handcuffed prisoner inside his Arnold police SUV in 2017. Ryan O’Connor survived the injury, but has been hospitalized with COVID for more than a week.
Steve Ledbetter said O’Connor's wife knelt with his family in prayer at the hospital.
“With all she carries, she was there to pick up some of ours too,” he wrote.