An Alabama police officer who was shot repeatedly earlier this month has improved so much he is now walking and speaking, authorities said.

A statement released Thursday by the Ozark Police Department said officer Samuel Yoh still has a long road ahead of him.

But Yoh has full movement and was able to read a book, it said, and he recognizes family and friends and is speaking fluently.

Yoh’s improvement is a reminder of “God’s almighty power,” the police statement said.

The officer was shot on Dec. 12 while answering a call in the southeast Alabama town and remains hospitalized. A suspected identified as Bradley Cutchens, 23, was shot to death by officers.

Yoh was shot six times, authorities said, and three shots hit him in the head. Doctors removed at least one bullet from his head in an operation before Christmas.

Ozark, home of the Army’s Fort Rucker helicopter training base, is about 90 miles south of Montgomery.