Kevin Siers
The Charlotte Observer (N.C.)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Sean Clark “finished strong,” dying while clicking his radio so dispatch would know something was wrong, a fellow officer said during his funeral Thursday.
TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=3 align=right border=0> Charlie Eubanks said that after Clark was shot at an east Charlotte apartment complex Saturday night, he struggled to let someone know about the emergency. Clark and fellow Officer Jeff Shelton died early Sunday morning.
Friends and family honored Clark in this morning’s funeral at Calvary Church, which was packed with mourners, many of them uniformed police officers. The service lasted two hours, ending just after 1 p.m.
Afterward, a long motorcade including the hearse and many police cars and motorcycles proceeded through the city toward Forest Lawn West cemetery. Residents lined the procession route, waving American flags, holding signs of support and dabbing away tears.
During the funeral service, Pastor Dale Holden said he met Sean Clark as a “skinny kid” in his church youth group.
He said Clark always had faith in God, even in the most difficult times, and was a loving and selfless person.
Holden said Clark found “the one” in his wife Sherry, and joked about how Clark passed out during the wedding ceremony and fell over.
“Nothing was going to stop him from getting married, not even that knot on the back of his head,” Holden said.
Holden fought back emotion as he talked about his personal relationship with Clark.
“Sean was my friend, and I miss my friend,” Holden said. “The first thing that came to my mind (after his death) was, let me get my hands on the person that did this because I wanted to kill them… that’s not something you normally hear from a pulpit.”
But Holden said that wouldn’t demonstrate the traits that personified Clark – love and sacrifice.
“When I let go of love because of my own anger… would that be doing him justice?” Holden said. “No, it would not.”
Pam Johnson, cousin of Clark’s wife Sherry, read a poem at the start of the funeral, saying “We will never forget the special friend he was to all.” She described him as a talkative and fun-loving person who some nicknamed “Buzz” because of his short hair.
Afterward, she asked people to give whatever remembrances they could to Sherry so she could put together an album for the Clarks’ son Brayden, 3, and their unborn child.
Mayor Pat McCrory also spoke, telling Clark’s family that he hoped they “hear and feel the prayers of thousands upon thousands of citizens in this community.”
He made a point to thank the residents of Timber Ridge Apartments, where Clark and Shelton were shot and killed. Residents rushed to aid the fallen officers after the shooting Saturday night.
Clark’s best friend, Keith Gardner, described Clark as a “hero.”
“You made us laugh and smile, and your departure makes us cry,” Gardner said. “We will miss you terribly, but we will never forget the difference you made in all of our lives… I love you, brother.”
Clark’s flag-draped casket was carried into the sanctuary just after 11 a.m., preceded by his colleagues from the North Tryon Division.
With one hand, Sherry Clark held on to her son Brayden, and with the other, she clutched a small stuffed puppy. She entered a church packed with uniformed police officers there to honor Clark at the funeral.
Clark’s funeral began just after 11 a.m. at Calvary Church on Pineville-Matthews Road. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn West.
Fellow officers from the North Tryon Division where he was assigned will be in front – all their shifts will be covered so they can attend.
The day is expected to be full of somber tradition and pageantry; officers will continue to wear black bands over their badges, which is customary to wear from the time of the death until midnight after the funeral.
There will also be an honor guard, a 21-gun salute, and a flyover by police helicopters.
Also, the Charlotte Fire Department will play the bag pipes. That is a Scottish and Irish tradition, meant to signal God that a brave soul is on his way to heaven.
Mourners arrived at Calvary Church on Wednesday evening for visitation with Clark’s family.
The visitation line was long and moved slowly.
A crowd estimated at nearly 1,000 people passed Officer Sean Clark’s casket and gave condolences to family.
“It’s painful inside, people waiting and all, and nobody seemed to be in a hurry,” said friend John Jackson.
He had to say goodbye.
Jackson was a regular caller into WFNZ sports talk radio as “Redd Foxx” and Clark was a regular listener.
They met at Panthers games and talked.
Wednesday, he looked at his friend’s open casket.
“That’s painful, it’s painful,” he said.
The murders brought back memories from nearly 14 years ago.
“I’m 74-years-old and I was here when the other two police officers were killed,” he said.
It hurt then and it hurts now.
“I have sympathy for their comrades and their family and something like this happens, you know,” said Jackson.
Among all the police officers, firefighters and dignitaries is an old man who wants police to do the right thing.
“It’s rough in my neighborhood,” said Jackson.
He wants them to have the respect they deserve.
“Those people lose their life upholding the law for us,” said Jackson. “It could be your neighborhood, it could be you next time.”
This time, it was his friend.
Officer Jeff Shelton’s family will receive family and friends at Calvary Church on Thursday evening from 5 - 7:30 p.m. His funeral will be Friday morning at 11 a.m. also at Calvary Church.
Clark, 34, and Shelton, 35, both died from gunshot wounds after a shooting at Timber Ridge Apartments at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday
The officers were struggling with the suspect in the apartment parking lot when they were shot, CMPD Police Chief Darrel Stephens said. Both were shot by weapons that were not their own. Both officers still had their guns in their holsters, Stephens said.
Mothers of Murdered Offspring heald a silent march Wednesday night honoring the two officers. It began at Marshall Park at 8 p.m. with a candlelight vigil and end with a silent march to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police headquarters.
The suspect accused of killing Clark and Shelton stood defiant and silent before a judge Tuesday afternoon. Demeatrius Montgomery, 25, made his first court appearance in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.
When the judge asked Montgomery if he understood the charges as they were read to him, Montgomery simply stared quietly at the judge. The judge replied that he would “take that as a yes.”
The judge then told Montgomery that he is eligible for the death penalty for the crime and his first court appearance was over.
Montgomery is in protective custody away from other inmates at the Mecklenburg County Jail. Police said his arrest is by no means the end of the case and that they still want to know what witnesses saw and heard.
WCNC reporters Anna Crowley and Tony Burbeck contributed to this story.
Copyright 2007 The Charlotte Observer