Officer Daniel Clark expects to go back to work in a couple of weeks, but says that he doesn't know how he's going to feel when he does.
"It's not every day that you have to look upon your own mortality," said Clark, the Winston-Salem police officer who was wounded in an armed confrontation near the Bojangles' restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway last month.
Clark's supervisor, Sgt. Mickey Hutchens, was shot in the face and died five days later. The suspect, Monte Evans, was shot to death after Clark returned fire.
In his first public comments since the confrontation with Evans on Oct. 7, Clark tearfully acknowledged the community for its support, but he offered no specifics about the shooting.
"I come here today with a thankful heart," Clark said. "This has been a difficult time for us, but we have felt every prayer."
Clark, 28, and his wife are expecting a baby early next year. In the weeks since the shooting, the Hutchens family has been very supportive.
"I consider them part of the family now," Clark said. "It's good to be with them."
Clark said that Hutchens' death devastated him. They had worked together less than a year, but he looked up to Hutchens and thought of him as a great leader. Clark said he was grateful that he got to spend time with Hutchens in the hospital shortly before he died.
During the exchange of gunfire with Evans, Clark was hit twice. One bullet struck his chest but was stopped by his bullet-proof vest. He was also shot in the head -- Clark said that the bullet entered his right ear and continued into his skull. He said that the bullet was "divinely guided" because it missed his carotid artery and other major vessels that could have left him more severely injured.
The bullet came to rest on the left side of Clark's neck. He had surgery to remove it on Friday. He said he still has some popping and cracking in his ear, but that doctors expect that it will go away eventually.
Chief Scott Cunningham thanked Clark and Hutchens for their bravery and their service.
"I pray no one has to do that again," he said.
As Clark prepares to go back to work, Azilee Majett, the mother of Evans, said she prayerfully wishes safety for Clark and hopes that he never encounters a similar situation.
"Their job is not always a safe job," she said of law-enforcement officers. "They deal with criminals and people that react and act violently toward them. They are always in harm's way."
Majett said she is sorry that Hutchens died and that Clark was shot, but she also mourns the loss of her son.
Evans had gone to the Bojangles' to talk with his former wife, a manager at the restaurant. She had told co-workers that she was afraid of Evans, and one of them called 911.
When Clark and Hutchens arrived, Evans ran and they chased him into a ravine where he fired on them at close range, Cunningham has said.
"I still contend that my son did not go there that day with the thoughts or intentions of hurting anybody," Majett said.
But the family is still in search of answers about exactly what happened. They said they have felt excluded from the investigation process and want the chance to see the official reports.
The SBI is investigating the incident, which is standard procedure for any officer-involved shooting, and the Winston-Salem police are conducting two internal investigations.
Cunningham said yesterday that he would hold another news conference within the next two weeks to discuss what police investigators have found. The SBI report will be released to the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office when it is finished.
fdaniel@wsjournal.com.
727-7366
pgarber@wsjournal.com.
727-7327
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