OFFICER DOWN

Friday, July 29 - FOR UPDATES TO STORY SCROLL DOWN

Sgt. Mike Fey, 14-year veteran of the Wilmington Police Department, a loving husband and father of two daughters, was shot as he chased after gunslinger, Larry Harrison. Fellow officers, also involved in the chase, returned fire killing suspect Harrison.

Sgt. Fey is currently in critical condition at the New Hanover Regional Hospital. Many in law enforcement are standing by at the hospital awaiting immediate word of his recovery. Sgt. Fey's brother, an officer with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, is grateful to all who have expressed their sympathy and who have so selflessly offered their support. Chief Darrel Stephens has graciously sent two of his officers from Charlotte to stand-by and assist in whatever capacity is necessary. send an email to Charlotte's Chief Stephens click here

The chase began after Harrison was spotted at the Houston Moore housing development at 13th and Greenfield Street and ended at the Greenfield Plaza Shopping Center.

21 year old Harrison was wanted for firing a gun at a Bail Bondsman in Brunswick County. Harrison, or Elk as he is called on the streets and where he is known as a gunslinger, is said to have several previous shootings notched in his belt. Harrison was to be tried on August 3rd in New Hanover County's District Court on a resisting an officer charge as well as charges of reckless driving and no operators license. He spent time in prison for July 2000 charges of Assault With a Deadly Weapon with Intent of Serious Injury and a Felony larceny. While Harrison was in prison ( 5/07/02 - 8/25/03) for 516 days he committed 16 prison infractions. The latest prison infraction was for a sexual offense in April of 2003. He had a total of 3 SEX ACT offenses as well as 6 charges of ASSAULT OF A PERSON WITH A WEAPON, 2 charges of INVOLVEMENT W/ GANG, a few provoking assaults, a profane language and a couple of disobeying orders and making VERBAL THREATS.

Just like many seriously violent offenders, there is an environmental and/or a genetic link that somewhat becomes a tragic circumstance in this and many other incidents such as this. Harrison's father, Larry Harrison Sr., 50, was shot by police in May of 2001 when he attempted to run over WPD Officer Kenneth Reichard, Mutt Junior's father attempted to sue the City for the five bullet wounds sustained in his attempt at killing Officer Reichard. Senior, himself an ex-con, wanted compensation for his loss of income. Since Harrison Sr. was found late at night, behind a Church that he was not a member of and since there was a current rash of church burglaries that immediately ceased after his arrest, perhaps the lost income he and his attorney were seeking was from not being able to steal from churches any longer. Perhaps getting his butt shot 5 times helped him deter his criminal career. Perhaps he could have spent some time nurturing his son, Mutt Jr. Perhaps we will hear more from Senior Harrison when he sues the City once again for the loss of his evil son.

Harrison had a girlfriend, 29 year old Valerie Graham who herself has a criminal record for Breaking and Entering. Graham supposedly drove the handcuffed Harrison into New Hanover County after his escape from the bail bondsman in Brunswick County. Had Ms. Graham failed to aid in the escape of Mr. Harrison who knows how Sgt. Fey's night might been.

To all those at the rescue, thank you for illustrating the training and courageous dedication necessary to save a life. I am certain we all sleep more soundly knowing you are on the job.Our prayers are certainly with Mike Fey and his family but they are also with the Officer that instinctively defended, not only Officer Fey's life, but the lives of the innocents sleeping soundly within range of one of Larry Harrison's .40 caliber bullets that was left unfired as the result of judicious marksmanship.

You are all encouraged to send words of encouragement to his swift recovery. A log of web posts is being catalogued for Sgt. Fey on the wilmingtonpolice.com website. (website is a private site and unaffiliated with the City of Wilmington, registration is required to post on the site but anyone with a valid email address can register and is encouraged to participate)

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SUNDAY UPDATE TO STORY

* Mike Fey was wearing a bulletproof vest. The bullet entered an inch or so above the protection. Sgt. Fey was able to walk after being shot, which would be a positive sign that there was no spinal cord injury.

• EMS responded to scene immediately, literally within a couple of minutes

• Larry Harrison, the shooter, was shot four times, two times in the chest and died immediately at the scene. The officer that returned fire striking Harrison down fatally did so cleanly. (Official report on shooting not yet out)

• Harrison was handcuffed after being shot, as a matter of precaution. (See story of FBI agents firefight encounter in Miami to understand why this is necessary.)

• Harrison senior, father of the shooter, has already started complaining about how his son died, no mention of the father's remorse about how his son lived.

• Sgt. Fey is heavily medicated in ICU and is not conscious. This, according to medical personnel unassociated with the treatment of Fey, is a normal course of events, particularly if Fey is on a ventilator. Fey would be medicated to keep him from being uncomfortable while he recovers from surgery. However, Fey is in no way out of danger and continues to need your thoughts and prayers.

MONDAY UPDATE TO STORY

FROM THE STAR NEWS- Condition of officer wounded in shootout improves
The condition of Wilmington police Office Michael Fey was upgraded today from critical to serious, New Hanover Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kendra Gerlach said.
Family members and officers spent the weekend at the hospital waiting for an improvement in the condition of Sgt. Fey, a 14-year veteran of the force. The good news came this morning, Ms. Gerlach said.
Samantha Fey, Sgt. Fey’s wife, issued a statement thanking the community for its concern. “I do believe it’s their prayers that have kept him going,” Mrs. Fey said.

JULY 30TH SHOW

The show dealt with the shooting of Sgt. Mike Fey (see below) The first segment dealt with criminals and guns, the second segment was conversation about Sgt. Fey with a call in by retired Wilmington Police Officer and friend of Fey's, David Hursey.

The next two segments dealt with current news stories, reopening investigations into mysterious deaths including comments about the Gary Rummer jail death. At the end of segment 4 Marc says a prayer for Sgt. Fey's family and his swift recovery.

Click on one of the four segments below to listen to the show in MP3 format.