OFFICER'S WIDOW: `I WILL NEVER FORGIVE - NOT EVER'.Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer Family and friends and co-workers of slain police Officer Michael Clark Michael (or Mike) Clark can refer to the following people:
``I hope in some corner of his sick and twisted mind he understands what he has done,'' the officer's widow, Jennifer Clark, said in the victim impact statement given before Tuffree's sentencing. ``But I will never forgive - not ever. ``Mr. Tuffree has absolutely blown my heart apart,'' she said. ``There are not enough words or tears to convey to you how much anguish and pain I have suffered.'' A normally stolid stol·id adj. stol·id·er, stol·id·est Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; impassive: "the incredibly massive and stolid bureaucracy of the Soviet system" prosecutor wept openly while a uniformed police officer hung his head and sobbed. After remembering her husband as a true hero, Jennifer Clark called Tuffree a ``sick and demented demented - Yet another term of disgust used to describe a program. The connotation in this case is that the program works as designed, but the design is bad. Said, for example, of a program that generates large numbers of meaningless error messages, implying that it is on the brink man who's not worth any more of my tears.'' But Tuffree was characterized fondly by his sister, Becky Bennedict, who defended his firing on officers who had come to his home to check on his welfare. ``His home was very important to him and his home was needlessly invaded and demolished de·mol·ish tr.v. de·mol·ished, de·mol·ish·ing, de·mol·ish·es 1. To tear down completely; raze. 2. To do away with completely; put an end to. 3. ,'' Bennedict said. ``A person cannot show remorse Remorse See also Regret. Ayenbite of Inwit (Remorse of Conscience) Middle English version of medieval moral treatise, c. 1340. [Br. Lit. for an act of self-defense.'' Both families have suffered, said Daniel O'Hare, a Roman Catholic priest who grew up with Daniel Tuffree in Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids, city (1990 pop. 108,751), seat of Linn co., E central Iowa, on the Cedar River; inc. as a city 1856. The second largest city in Iowa, it is named for the surging rapids in the river. , Iowa. ``Both families have been changed irrevocably ir·rev·o·ca·ble adj. Impossible to retract or revoke: an irrevocable decision. ir·rev ,'' O'Hare said. ``I have heard Daniel Tuffree described today as an animal and a nut. He is not. He is a human being.'' Michael Clark's father, Fred, called Tuffree a ``useless drug and alcohol abuser'' who condemned his family to ``a life sentence of sorrow.'' Aside from the anger, the proceeding gave families a chance to publicly remember men whose lives were changed in the flurry of gunfire. Michael Clark's family recalled his clutching a bouquet bouquet a structure resembling a cluster of flowers. of dandelions and dragging a one-legged ironing board home to his mother. They remembered the hugs he gave his 5-month-old son - now a toddler who recognizes his father only in photographs. And Tuffree was remembered for the summers he worked as a playground director, so he could save money for a trip with his two children. He was remembered patiently telling his sister stories in the back seat of a cross-country drive. The loss also touched other officers, who said that his death in the line of duty In the Line of Duty may refer to:
``I have had countless nightmares,'' said Sgt. Anthony Anzilotti. ``I do not know if I will ever be able to close my eyes and not see him lying in a pool of blood . . . I will carry these emotional scars for the rest of my life.'' The proceeding was a better indication of the real impact of the crime than the trial itself, Anzilotti said. ``It seemed at times during this trial that Mike Clark was forgotten,'' he said. ``I can't tell you how much it angers me that he is six feet underground and Daniel Tuffree is alive and breathing in this courtroom . . . Daniel Tuffree deserved to die on August 4, 1995.'' Tuffree's ex-wife, Susan, sounded a conciliatory con·cil·i·ate v. con·cil·i·at·ed, con·cil·i·at·ing, con·cil·i·ates v.tr. 1. To overcome the distrust or animosity of; appease. 2. note, saying she extended her ``deepest sympathies'' to the family of Clark. ``I am sorry any of us has to be here today,'' she said. ``We are all good people and bad things have happened.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Jennifer Clark Told court of loss's impact (2) CLARK |
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