Officer Ainsworth inspiration: 'Always rising to the challenge' in recovery after shots to neck
Raleigh police officer Charles Ainsworth has been working his way back for almost a year after a person wanted for stealing a car shot him in the neck last January.
On Monday, the Raleigh Police Department shared his latest inspirational video on Twitter.
Ainsworth was shot several times at close range in the line of duty.
He was following up on a report that a car stolen at gunpoint had been spotted in southwest Raleigh when he was shot in the neck. He then suffered a series of strokes.
In March, Ainsworth's wife told WRAL News that doctors called his recovery remarkable, particularly given the strokes.
“The doctors are amazed by how well he’s recovering,” she said. “They’re saying he shouldn’t be this far, and he is. He’s above and beyond. He’s a fighter.”
In October, a smiling Ainsworth cross the finish line at the nOg Run Club’s Oktoberfest 4 Miler. Elizabeth Pagano, president of the nOg Run Club, said the group donated $12,325 from its St. Paddy’s 4 Miler to help his recovery.
The man accused on shooting Ainsworth, Cedric Jamal Kearney of Henderson, is charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. He also is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the carjacking. He remains in the Wake County jail under a $2.66 million bond.
