WINSTON-SALEM (AP) ó A North Carolina police officer wounded in a shootout last week died Monday evening after suffering a setback over the weekend, authorities said.
Winston-Salem Police Chief Scott Cunningham said at a news conference that Sgt. Mickey Hutchens, 50, died at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Hutchens was shot in the face during the shootout Oct. 7 that left a suspect dead and another police officer wounded.
“For more than 27 years, he dedicated his life to the service of others,” Cunningham said in a statement. “Mickey sacrificed his life protecting the citizens of North Carolina. His sacrifice was not in vain. He believed in what he was doing.”
He added that Hutchens was an organ donor whose organs were being donated to others.
Officials said earlier that Officer Daniel Clark, 28, who was hit with two bullets, was released from the hospital Friday.
The officers had chased Monte Denard Evans from a restaurant where the 35-year-old had come to confront his former wife. Evans was killed in the shootout.
Mayor Allen Joines declared Tuesday through Friday a period of civic mourning and ordered city flags to be flown at half staff.
Funeral arrangements for Hutchens were incomplete, Cunningham said.