Condition of Wounded Police Officer Deteriorates : Recovery: Doctors say Robert J. Henry is ‘extremely critical’ after developing a blood clot on his lung. He was shot in the head while on duty last month in Newport Beach.

A Newport Beach police officer who was shot in the head last month took a dramatic turn for the worse after he developed a blood clot on his lung, hospital officials said Saturday.

Robert J. Henry, 30, has been comatose since March 12, but was recently moved out of intensive care after he showed signs of improvement, officials said.

But Friday night, he developed a blood clot, causing doctors to downgrade his condition from serious to “extremely critical.”

“This marks a big setback for the officer, who spent last week in a regular hospital room,” officials at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian said in a statement released Saturday. “In fact, Henry’s condition had been so stable last week that Hoag had planned to soon transfer Henry to a rehabilitation hospital.”

The statement quoted Henry’s neurosurgeon, who has requested anonymity:

“The blood clot left Officer Henry in a markedly deteriorated condition. Unfortunately, blood clots are a common complication of acutely ill people who have had prolonged bed rest.”

Answering a call of “shots fired” four weeks ago, police found Henry, a five-year veteran of the force, under the body of Carlos Caicedo, 24, who police say might have been intending to commit suicide.

The men were found about 4 a.m. in a Newport Beach church parking lot near 16th Street and Dover Drive.

Two weapons were recovered at the scene, both of which had been fired.

Police have reported no success in solving the case, and they have released few details.

During 5 1/2 hours of surgery last month, doctors removed bullet fragments from Henry’s brain, which showed signs of swelling.

The officer on Friday was connected to a ventilator to aid his breathing, and he was receiving medication to help control his blood pressure.

Before the blood clot, Henry was maintaining these functions naturally, without medicine or machines.

The Newport Beach Police Employees Assn. has set up a fund for Henry and his family, and officers are wearing bracelets to honor him. Henry and his wife, Patty, are parents of three children, including a month-old daughter.