A tangible tribute to Tucker

Nov. 16—On the anniversary of his untimely death more than three decades ago, fallen Clinton Police Officer Donald Ray Tucker was honored as the new Faircloth Freeway bridge was officially dedicated in his name — a fitting tribute for a man who made the most of his 23 years on earth, family and friends said.

Officials with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Sampson County and the City of Clinton, along with Tucker's family and friends gathered Monday to dedicate the bridge, which was recently rebuilt over N.C. 24 in Clinton.

A massive crowd gathered in front of Ribeyes of Clinton, a stone's throw from the bridge, to pay tribute to Tucker. The late officer was killed on Nov. 14, 1991, during an undercover narcotics operation while on loan in Carteret County. Now his memory will live on, not only through his family and those he knew, but through the bridge naming.

"While Officer Tucker is gone, his legacy lives on in the memories of those he touched," N.C. DOT's Division 3 Engineer Chad Kimes said.

Tucker often went into schools and churches in an effort to mentor to children, and deliver an anti-drug message. Even at a young age himself, Tucker saw the devastation of drugs and sought to prevent that in a younger generation.

"He was in his early 20s, and he was spending his extra time educating our youth to stay off drugs," said Kimes. "There are fewer things in life more valuable than those individuals who give their time selflessly to help our next generation succeed. It is good to see so many people here today to honor somebody who did so much in his 23 years of life."

It was a family affair at the ceremony, with Tucker's brother Reginald Tucker and Reginald's son Jackson leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Eric Tucker sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

"There are some who bring a light so great into the world, that even after they are gone, the light remains," said Reginald Tucker. "He gave his life trying to save others. He left at great grief to his family, to his friends and to those who knew him. When he wasn't showing his family and friends his love, he was out there fighting the war on drugs. He will be remembered and will always be part of this family, our family, your family."

In 1990, Tucker joined the Clinton Police Department as a uniformed officer and assisted the Interagency Drug Enforcement unit. While with the department, he volunteered his time speaking with young people, warning them about drugs. Later, in 1991, he volunteered with Carteret County as an undercover officer for two months.

On Nov. 14, 1991, Tucker, "on loan" to Carteret County from the Clinton Police Department, was killed when he was ambushed during an undercover narcotics investigation. Tucker was making his last purchase as part of an undercover drug operation with the Carteret multi-agency task force when he was robbed and murdered.

A Midway High School graduate, Tucker was a one-year veteran of the Clinton Police Department and just two weeks shy of his 23rd birthday when he was killed. As a tribute, his officer number 332 was retired.

Family friend Terry Lee spoke at Monday's ceremony, thanking former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, Clinton City Council members and the mayor amongst others. The family, including Donald Ray Tucker's parents Billy and Glenda Tucker, had sought to have their son recognized in a tangible way for the past 20 years. A couple years ago, that endeavor was renewed with an earnest effort behind Lee and others.

A resolution was introduced by City Councilman Daniel Ruggles in October 2020 to name the under-construction Faircloth Freeway (U.S. 421) bridge after Tucker. It received a 3-2 vote in favor, but initially failed because the N.C. Department of Transportation requires such naming votes to be unanimous.

Discussions were held in the months that followed on how to best recognize Tucker and others, with the idea floated of a "Fallen Heroes" designation for the bridge. The Fallen Heroes Ad Hoc Committee was formed in late 2020 to establish steps for naming bridges as there were no such procedures. As part of its recommendation, the committee stated that the city should not seek to generically name a bridge in honor of all fallen first responders in lieu of individually naming.

A recommendation from the committee to name the bridge in honor of Tucker was made in June 2021. The Clinton City Council unanimously concurred, adopting a resolution the next month, in July 2021, in support of naming the Faircloth Freeway Bridge after Tucker, the only Clinton police officer to have died in the line of duty.

That resolution was sent to the N.C. Department of Transportation, which officially approved the naming in October 2021.

The Tucker family gave special recognition to a few individuals, among them Lee and Ruggles.

Tucker's friend Eddie Parker, who also spoke Monday, described Tucker as "a friend" and "a hero," a confidant on whom he could rely.

"D-Ray was my friend," said Parker. "A hero is someone who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifices for the safety and well-being of someone else. My friend was in fact a hero. And I just had to say thank you for all those who pushed to make this possible."

Lee regaled the audience in the story of "Johnsontown," the former name of the stretch in Clinton that extends nearly the length of Sunset Avenue, from the newly-dedicated Officer Donald Ray Tucker Bridge all the way to Hardee's, near Sampson Community College's campus.

"This place right here stirs a lot of emotions for me," said Lee. "Eighteen years, one month and six days ago, my only son was killed in a car wreck just a couple hundred yards over there. So for a long while, I would go out of my way not to go by here. But time has a way of healing."

When his parents brought Lee home from the hospital as a newborn, it was to a rented cinder block house about two-thirds of the way down Royal Lane. By the time his little brother was born, the family was in "an asbestos-clad" mill house where the Ink Spot is now, not far from the old house. His parents reared four children in that house.

Before there was a Royal Lane Park, many a window was broken at West Clinton Freewill Baptist Church as players gathered to play at an adjacent lot.

"As a boy, I would stand in my yard and salute convoy after convoy of Army and Marine troops going back and forth from Fort Bragg to Camp Lejeune. Many of them were deployed to Vietnam. This neighborhood was very blue-collar, very hard-working. It looked nothing like it does now," Lee stated.

He offered those in attendance a glimpse at Clinton, as it once was.

Lee recalled an old service station run by a man and his sons, the barbershop that Hubert Pope operated where Ruby Tuesday is now. John Crumpler had a welding shop next door, and Lee's father ran a propane gas company with an office attached to the family mill house at the corner of Sunset Avenue and Pierce Street. Shorty James ran a junk yard in the proximity of where Black's Tire is now, and there was a neighborhood grocery store nearby, Lee recalled. Lenny Hayes had a store across from Crumpler's welding shop and, a little further down, Henry Hall operated another country store where visitors could get old-fashioned dipped ice cream. Farm agent Frank Faison, a friend of Lee's father, lived close by — Lee said Faison's was the first two-story house he had ever been in.

"Most of these men were probably like my daddy, probably World War II vets; they knew what it meant to put your life on the line — to serve and to save others," Lee attested. "They would be proud to have Donald Ray Tucker in our neighborhood. Welcome to Johnsontown."

Becky Spell offered a few words and a benediction to wrap up the ceremony. She pointed to the construction still ongoing around the bridge site.

"How many have waited in line right over here for more than a minute in the last two years? How many have grumbled as you waited in line as you went under the bridge under construction?" Spell asked to laughs, raised hands and knowing applause.

She shared the story of one of her young students who asked to pray with the construction workers. The workers obliged, and Spell said it struck a chord with her and she hoped it would with others.

"We need to leave this place not grumbling that it lasted a little longer or that it's cold outside," said Spell. "We need to leave this place knowing God is here. This is hallowed ground."

Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.