By Paul Garber
Winston-Salem Journal
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem Police Officer Daniel Clark gave a tearful nod of appreciation to the Winston-Salem community for its response to the shooting that wounded him and killed his supervisor, Sgt. Mickey Hutchens.
“I come here today with a thankful heart,” Clark said during a news conference at the police department. “This has been a difficult time for us but we have felt every prayer.”
Clark, 28, was speaking publicly for the first time since the Oct. 7 shootings behind the Bojangles restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway.
Clark did not address the specifics of the shootings. Chief Scott Cunningham said those details will be discussed in a press conference to be held within the next two weeks.
Clark was hit twice during the shootout. One bullet struck his chest but was stopped by his bullet-proof vest. He was also shot in the head. Clark said the bullet entered his right ear and continued into his skull. He said 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 the neck. The bullet was removed by surgery Friday, he said. He said he still has some popping and cracking in his ear, but that doctors expect that to go away eventually.
Officer Hutchens, 50, died five days after the shootings after being struck in the face.
The suspect, Monte Evans, 35, died at the scene after being shot three times after Clark returned fire.
Clark said he will return to work within the next two weeks. He said he’s not sure what his emotions will be when he returns to work, but that he understands there will be an emotional hurdle to get through.
“It’s not every day that you have to look upon your own mortality,” he said.
Clark said he was thankful for getting to see Hutchens in the hospital briefly before Hutchens died.
“I was grateful for a moment to speak with him,” he said. Clark said he was devastated when Hutchens died. He said he had worked with Hutchens since the beginning of this year and considered him a great leader.
He said Hutchens’ family has been a tremendous support to him.
“I consider them part of the family now,” he said. “It’s good for me to be with them.”
Clark, who is married and expecting a child early next year, said he had seen displays in support of him and Hutchens around the city in the aftermath of the shootings.
He said those displays uplifted him.
“It was a blessing and I’m very grateful,” he said.
Cunningham said he expects Clark to return to full duty, in uniform and on patrol.
Cunningham said that the SBI is investigating the shooting, and that the police department has two investigations — one from the Criminal Investigations Division and another from the department’s professional standards.
Cunningham said the press conference that will be held within the next two weeks will discuss what police investigators have found. He said he expects those results to be similar to the SBI’s results.
Cunningham said the families of law enforcement officers everywhere live with the fear of tragedy striking them, but for Clark’s and Hutchens’ families, the fear became a reality.
“Our world and out community are rocked when the reality comes up,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham thanked Clark and Hutchens for their service and their bravery.
“I pray no one has to do that again,” he said.
Copyright 2009 Winston-Salem Journal