A split second, the blink of an eye, irrevocably changed Officer Daniel Clark's life.
While answering a domestic-disturbance call Oct. 7 -- something a police officer might do hundreds of times over the course of a career -- Clark was forced to do the one thing a good officer hopes never to do: fire his weapon and take a life.
In an instant while defending himself, the mortally wounded Sgt. Mickey Hutchens and a trainee, Clark unintentionally became for many the public face of the Winston-Salem Police Department, a cop who symbolizes everything good and honorable about his profession.
"I'm thankful for the support of the community and what people are saying, but I don't consider myself a hero," Clark said at a news conference last week. "I just consider myself a servant of the community and that's all I've ever wanted to do."
Divine guidance
Hero or public servant, however you view Daniel Clark, a U.S. Army veteran and a police officer for all of five years, he certainly has endured much in a year's time.
He was treated for kidney cancer in November 2008; his surgery deemed a success. He and his wife learned that they would become parents next spring. Then he crossed paths with Monte Denard Evans in a ravine behind Bojangles' on Peters Creek Parkway.
Evans fled when police approached, slipping near the ravine. After he appeared to surrender, Evans turned on the officers. He pulled a small-caliber handgun and shot Hutchens. Then he opened fire on Clark, hitting him once in the head and once in the chest, Clark's body armor saving his life.
When he was being treated at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Clark's immediate concerns were for Hutchens. He spent a few precious moments with Hutchens before his sergeant died and was adamant that he be allowed to attend Hutchens' funeral.
At the news conference, Clark was humble, thoughtful and composed. He spoke movingly about Hutchens, and indicated that his deep faith in God will sustain him. He repeatedly referred to being "uplifted" by those around him, and said the bullet that lodged in his neck was "divinely guided" because it did no damage to his spinal cord or vital arteries.
Chief Scott Cunningham, himself a relative newcomer to the police department, noted the best in his officers that day.
"I want to publicly thank Officer Clark for his service and bravery in this action," Cunningham said. "I want to thank Mickey for the ultimate sacrifice."
Best and brightest
As thoughtful as Clark has been since that morning, he's also been uncomfortable in the spotlight even as he's been appreciative for the displays of public support.
Obviously, Clark would much prefer that none of this had happened, and that Evans had surrendered peacefully. Clark didn't ask for the notoriety and certainly didn't -- and doesn't -- wish to be known as the "hero" police officer.
Still, it's difficult not to notice Clark in a community that not too long ago was divided by perceptions of police bungling in the high-profile (and racially charged) investigations into the killing of Deborah Sykes and the beating of Jill Marker at Silk Plant Forest.
The brave patrol officer who responded selflessly in a crisis or a shady detective manipulating evidence? Which do you prefer as a symbol of the police department?
Yes, it's different officers in different eras under different chiefs. But in a community where mistrust of police still lingers in some quarters, the truth is that we need officers such as Daniel Clark.
We're grateful to Clark for his actions the morning of Oct. 7 and grateful for him because of the way he's conducted himself since.
ssexton@wsjournal.com
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