Sgt. Mickey Hutchens died Monday after suffering a gunshot wound to the head last Wednesday. Hutchens was a 27-year veteran of the Winston-Salem Police Department and was 50 years old.
Graham Atkinson, Surry County sheriff, said he received the call Monday night informing the department of Hutchens’ death. Police officers across the county are now mourning his death by covering their badges with a black wrap. Most departments will continue to do this for around a week.
Shortly after the shooting incident occurred last week, Atkinson called the Winston-Salem police chief to offer the county’s services. He now reflects on what happened.
Atkinson said, “You start reflecting on your own career and the times when things could’ve gone differently but didn’t.”
Sgt. Jimmy Gillespie with the Dobson Police Department was involved in a shooting incident in 2001. He said he began reliving the situation in his mind after hearing of the Winston-Salem shooting.
“It’s a fact of the job, but it’s still bad in every circumstance ... It’s a chance we take on every single call,” Gillespie said.
Dale Watson, chief of the Mount Airy Police Department, had a similar response. “It brings home the inherent danger that comes with the job.”
Officers from the sheriff’s office and police departments in Dobson and Mount Airy will send representatives to Hutchens’ funeral. Other area police departments will likely do the same. Sheriff Atkinson said he plans to attend the funeral but hasn’t received word yet on the arrangements.
Hutchens and another officer, Daniel Clark, suffered gunshot wounds when responding to a domestic dispute at the Bojangles’ on Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. Clark was released from the hospital on Friday, but Hutchens passed away Monday night. Monte Denard Evans, 35, fired the shot that led to Hutchens’ death. Evans was killed in the firefight.
Atkinson said domestic disputes are some of the most frequent calls received in Surry County. The sheriff’s office receives several such calls a day. Atkinson said domestic disputes also happen to be the most dangerous situations because of the strong emotions involved.
Gillespie explained that every domestic violence is very different. He said, “Tensions are a lot higher ... You absolutely cannot predict the severity.”
But Watson reminded, “Domestic violence calls are very dangerous, but any call has its inherent dangers.”
In May, the county honored fallen officers. Mount Airy Detective Clinton Monroe Boggs, Henry Down Kennedy of the Mount Airy Police Department, Deputy James Billups Trevathan of the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, James Thomas Jr. of the Pilot Mountain Police Department, and Officers Ralph East and Glenn Branscome of the Pilot Mountain Police Department were all officers in Surry County who fell in the line of duty. Boggs, who was killed in 1971, was the most recent fallen officer.
Atkinson said, “It’s just the grace of God that nobody else has been killed ... Never assume that any call is routine.”
Though the departments mourn the death of Hutchens, Atkinson said, “You’ve just got to shake it off and go right back to work.”
Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.
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