Folcroft Community Gathers In Support Of Wounded Officer
by Trang Do and Andrew Kramer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Hundreds of community members, fellow officers, and first responders attended a vigil Saturday night outside Folcroft Borough Hall to pray for a swift recovery for injured Officer Christopher Dorman.
Dorman's father George said his son did some walking earlier in the day and even got out of bed on his own. His own doctors are astonished by how well he's doing just a day after he was critically injured.
Friday morning, Officer Dorman was responding to a narcotics call when he was shot seven times, including once in the face.
Miraculously, he survived.
"He's doing well, as well as can be expected," George Dorman said. "He's shot seven times, he's got some pretty extensive damage, but he's pulling through pretty good."
Now George Dorman's youngest child, his baby, is being called a Delco legend.
Thanks to FaceTime, Chris saw the outpouring of love at the vigil, right from his hospital bed.
"This is the way a community comes together," his father said. "They're police officers, they're brothers, they're sisters, they're family."
Chris' friends, who call him Dorman, said they're grateful that their fun-loving, oftentimes goofy friend is still with us.
"He's ready to get back out there, just as much as all of us," said MaryAlice Worrell.
"It's just amazing to see everybody coming in from everywhere for him. This is his hometown, he just would be so happy to see all this," said Amy Lare.
"He loved his job," said Darlene Dougherty, a longtime friend. "That's all he talked about. He supported Folcroft more than anybody here probably."
Now his family is asking that the community continue to support their hometown hero, on his road to recovery, and all who wear a badge.
"Just like anything else, he's not backing down," George Dorman said of his son. "He didn't back down from a guy with a gun, who was trying to kill him. He's not gonna back down from the rehabs and the surgery that he needs to get himself back to being a police officer, which he wants to do."
Doctors do not have a timeline for Officer Dorman's release, but his father said he intends to return to the police force, whether at Folcroft or elsewhere, as soon as he's given the all clear.
