The Springfield-Greene County Park Board says Park Ranger Robert Bridges will be released from the hospital on Tuesday, sometime after 2 p.m.
When Bridges is released, he will be escorted home by area first responders as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in last Thursday’s officer-involved shooting near Glenstone and Battlefield in Springfield.
The exact timing of Bridges’ release is undetermined, as of early afternoon.
Updates will be announced on the Park Board’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Bridges, 52, was providing backup to Springfield Police Department officers when he was hit by several shots fired by a suspect.
Park board officials say Bridges’ Kevlar duty vest probably saved his life, but he faces a long recovery from other injuries.
Bridges has served as a park ranger about a year and a half, with 17 years of previous law enforcement experience.
Following release from Cox Medical Center South in Springfield, Bridges will be escorted home by Springfield-Greene County Park Rangers, Springfield Police Department, Greene County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri Highway Patrol Troop D, with multiple area law enforcement agencies, fire departments and EMT’s joning the procession as it makes its way to Bridges’ home in Stone County.
The planned route from Cox South is west on Primrose, south on Campbell, continuing south on Missouri 13/Highway 160 into Christian and Stone County, then west on Missouri 76 at Reeds Spring.
Motorists are asked to yield to the procession, and the public is encouraged to observe and cheer as the procession passes.