ST. LOUIS — July 14, 2015.
A police sergeant was working a secondary security shift in the Central West End when his civilian vehicle was approached by a car. Moments later, shots fired into and coming out of the sergeant's car rang out.
The incident nearly left Sgt. Charles Lowe dead, but Saturday will mark his Alive Day, exactly three years since the day that changed his life.
In the three years since that day, the men responsible for the shooting have been tried and sentenced and Lowe has returned to work with a new perspective on life and police work. On Saturday, he will celebrate the anniversary with an event to bring awareness to gun violence in the area.
But before that day, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and prosecutors released video never seen by the public of the shooting that nearly took Sgt. Lowe's life.
The video shows Dale “Butch” Wolford jumping out of a car driven by Edward J. Davis and firing shots into the civilian vehicle where Lowe was sitting.
In a 2015 interview, Lowe said a ballistics vest and a message from God likely saved his life.
"They were just walking. There was nothing particular about them but the hairs on my neck stood up," Lowe recalled in an interview a few months after the shooting. "And at that point there was a voice that told me grab my vest. I know it was God."
He put the vest back on and said the decision saved his life.
The video shows the harrowing moments on that fateful day, a date Lowe is likely to remember forever.
Earlier this year, Wolford was sentenced to 30 years in prison for firing the shots, and Davis was sentenced to 25 years for his role. That closure brings new meaning to this year's Alive Day for Lowe.
This Saturday will be "hopefully a joyous occasion," he said. "We have some closure. We went through the trial process and all the individuals were identified that committed the assault on my life. So, finally, for the first time in three years, I have some closure on that."
That joyful occasion will be a walk to show support for the family and friends of victims of violent crime. The event, which Lowe is calling the 'Code 73 Walk', is his way of returning to assist those who have been touched by violent crime.
"In my line of work, when I tell the dispatcher 'Code 73' that means I'm going back in service, I'm ready for my next assignment," he said. "So, what I went through, Code 73 is symbolic of that, I went through the incident and now I'm coming back and I'm ready to handle more."
You can join Lowe and the entire walk on the parking lot of the Juvenile Justice Center on Vanderventer at 7:30. The mile-and-a-half walk will lead them to the fountain at the Central West End, where the incident occurred.
If you are unable to attend, Lowe asks you send your thought and prayers.
