Serving his community is all Dean Atkinson Jr. has ever done. Despite being shot in the hand and face in September, the Washington State trooper hopes to return to patrol as soon as possible. “It’ll be more of a ‘when’ I go back to work, not an ‘if,’” Atkinson said from his hometown of Walla Walla, where he is recovering from his injuries. On Sept. 22, Atkinson was parked in his marked WSP patrol car on a Walla Walla street when witnesses said a man walked up to the car and started firing. Investigators called it an ambush. “When I realized what was happening,” Atkinson said, “I drove away and ducked down to the right to try to protect my face.” He was shot in the face and his left hand, but was able to drive approximately a mile to the nearest hospital. “I lost part of my left ring and middle finger,” Atkinson said. Brandon O’Neel is charged with the attempted murder of Atkinson, and is scheduled to go to trial in November. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/trooper-shot-return-to-patrol/281-be37d4db-70a5-4f7e-b97a-d9ccac7d5176