An Oregon State Police Trooper hospitalized after being shot several times on Christmas Day is now talking, relatives say.



Trooper Nic Cederberg thanked the staff at OHSU Hospital for saving his life and "apologized for the foul language and promised that he would work on it," brother Jeff Cederberg wrote Wednesday night on the trooper's GoFundMe donation page.

Nearly $45,800 has been contributed to the fundraiser as of 8:05 a.m. Thursday morning. The 32-year-old trooper's condition is improving by the hour, the brother said, and he cried when he saw the online page.



"He is extremely humbled that this many people are showing him support when all he was doing was his job," Jeff Cederberg wrote. "I told him that the rest of (us) didn't see it that way and it was our turn to protect him for a change."



Nic Cederberg, an Army veteran and seven-year trooper, was shot several times by homicide suspect James Tylka on Sunday. Police have not said how many times or where Cederberg was shot.

Tylka, 30, was killed by other officers after he shot his estranged wife, Katelynn Armand, in King City and chased to south of Sherwood, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Tylka shot Cederberg after the chase ended and was fatally wounded after.

Armand was shot outside the home Tylka was living with his parents after she dropped off their 11-month-old daughter for a visit, the sheriff's office said.

Cederberg underwent three surgeries as of Wednesday morning and is "on a good trajectory" towards recovery, state police said.

Cederberg was part of another officer-involved shooting in October 2015 when he and two other troopers fired at a fugitive who was shooting at other officers over the course of a 17-mile chase along U.S. 26 in Washington County.

The troopers didn't hit Andrew DeHart. He later fatally shot himself.

A candlelight vigil for Cederberg is scheduled for Monday Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. in North Plains. The vigil will be held at the Jessie Mays Community Center 30975 S.W. Hillcrest St.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey