Gary French Dockery (October 15, 1953 – April 15, 1997) was an American police officer in
Walden, Tennessee
Walden is a town located in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,981 at the 2020 census and up from 1,898 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee–Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Walden ...
. After being critically injured in 1988, he spent seven and a half years in a
coma-like state. In 1996, he emerged from the coma and started talking enthusiastically, recognizing friends and recalling events from past years. He then fell back into a coma and died a year later.
Biography
On September 17, 1988, Dockery was shot in the forehead by a drunken assailant as he responded to a domestic disturbance call. His shooter, Samuel Frank Downey, then aged 68, had made the call falsely reporting a disturbance and then shot Dockery at point blank range. He later told police that he had wanted revenge against the police for reprimanding him about noise following a noise complaint from his neighbors. Downey was sentenced to 37 years in prison. Dockery slipped into what doctors called a
persistent vegetative state
A persistent vegetative state (PVS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative stat ...
, unable to communicate except with occasional eye blinks and groans, indicating that part of his brain was still working. Although he could respond, he was not conscious.
[Williams, Michelle (February 15, 1996)]
"Comatose Officer Speaks After 7 1/2 Years, But Family's Joy Shortlived"
''AP News
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
''.
On Monday, February 12, 1996, Dockery stirred and started talking, recognizing old friends, recalling the names of his horses, and recalling camping trips.
He spoke less on Tuesday, and not at all the following day.
Four days after he began talking, Dockery underwent lung surgery due to a life-threatening infection.
On April 15, 1997, he died at the age of 43 from a blood clot in his lung. Dockery was transported from his nursing home to
Erlanger Hospital
The Erlanger Health System (often referred to as Erlanger Hospital or Erlanger), incorporated as the ''Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority'', a non-profit, public benefit corporation registered in the State of Tennessee, is a system of ...
in
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, where he was pronounced dead at 9:52 a.m.
References
See also
*
List of people who awoke from a coma
This is a list of people who awoke from coma like states, such as a persistent vegetative state, minimally conscious state, catatonic stupor, or locked-in syndrome after a lengthy period of time.
See also
* Coma
* Karolina Olsson
Karoli ...
1953 births
1997 deaths
People with severe brain damage
People from Hamilton County, Tennessee
People with disorders of consciousness
People with traumatic brain injuries
People who awoke from permanent coma like states
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