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Cunningham: Officers acted appropriately in fatal shooting
Journal photo by Jennifer Rotenizer
Winston-Salem Police Chief Scott Cunningham (left) listens as Officer Kaleb Mathews answers questions about the October 7, shooting at Bojangles on Peters Creek Parkway.
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Published: November 24, 2009
Updated: 11/24/2009 11:50 am
Winston-Salem Police Chief Scott Cunningham said today that there was no "golden moment" that would have changed the outcome of the Oct. 7 shooting that killed a suspect and left one officer dead and another wounded.
Only the actions of suspect Monte Evans would have changed the outcome, Cunningham said at a press conference in which police discussed the results of their two internal investigations.
The incident began at 10:16 a.m. when Evans' ex-wife, Sally Evans, an employee of Bojangles' restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway, called police to tell them her husband was at the restaurant.
Sally Evans told the dispatcher that Monte Evans had approached her while she was in the dumpster area behind the restaurant. She said that she had taken out warrants against Evans about 10 days earlier, and that in the past he had pulled a gun and a knife on her.
Cunningham said records personnel began tracking down the warrants, then Police Cpl. Matt Winnicki was dispatched at 10:28.
Before Evans arrived, a Bojangles' employee pressed a panic button near a cash register or an office of the restaurant, and police got a second 911 call saying that Evans was in the restaurant harassing employees and customers.
Police Sgt. Jeffrey Stutts of the Professional Standards Division provided details of the pursuit of Evans.
He said Officers Daniel Clark and Kaleb Mathews — both 28 —were in Clark's car at Parkway Ford, just behind Bojangles', preparing to have some minor work done on the car. Clark drove into the back of the Bojangles' parking lot and talked to an employee through the drive-thru window, who told Clark about Evans.
The officers went into the dining area through a south door just as Evans was leaving through the north-side door. An employee pointed him out, and Matthews and Clark began pursuing him toward Link Road. When Evans got to the Precision Tune, he took off running, Stutts said.
Evans doubled-back toward Bojangles' behind the Alpha Commercial Printing building.
By this time, Bojangles' employees had locked the building to prevent him from coming back in.
Evans rounded the front of the restaurant, confronting Sgt. Mickey Hutchens, who had not yet gotten out of his squad car. Hutchens backed up as Evans headed toward a ravine of a creek, and got out of his car just as Evans approached the steep, brushy ravine.
Police Capt. David Clayton provided details of the shooting.
Clayton said that the officers were within a few feet of Evans when Evans turned and began firing from a .380 semi-automatic handgun.
Hutchens was struck in the face and was immediately incapacitated. He never had a chance to draw his weapon. Clark was struck in the chest just above the heart — the bullet was stopped by a bullet-proof vest — and in the right ear, with the bullet coming to rest at the back of his neck.
Clark, who fell backward and landed on Matthews' leg, was able to pull out his gun and return fire. Clayton said he shot six times. Three shots struck Evans, once each in the head, shoulder and chest, Clayton said.
Evans collapsed face-down in the vegetation, and the gun fell to the ground inches away from his right hand. He died at the scene.
Mathews, 28, speaking for the first time publicly since the shooting, broke into tears recalling what happened. Matthews was the one who called to tell other officers that Hutchens and Clark were down.
Mathews said he was able to talk to Clark, who told him he had been shot in the head. He tried to talk to Hutchens, but was not able to get a response.
Hutchens died five days later.
"Sgt. Mickey Hutchens is a hero," Mathews said today. "If it weren't for Mickey Hutchens, I wouldn't be standing here today."
Cunningham said the SBI has not yet completed its investigation, pending results from ballistics, toxicology and other tests. He said because there will be no arrest or trial, it's not likely the SBI investigation will have the urgency that some other cases will.
Once their report is complete, the results will be forwarded to the district attorney's office, Cunningham said.
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