ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis jury returned with a verdict Thursday evening in the case of a man accused of ambushing a St. Louis police officer.
Dale Wolford was convicted in the 2015 shooting of Sergeant Charles Lowe in the Central West End. Lowe was working a second job as a security officer, and sitting in his car when a group of people ambushed him.
He was wearing a bulletproof vest and survived.
Thursday, Wolford was found guilty on four counts, including assault and armed criminal action. On Feb. 23, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Edward Davis was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
“I feel good. I feel like some stress has been lifted off my shoulders,” Lowe said after the trial.
“Emotionally it was kind of a roller coaster there for a while, not knowing when we’d have some kind of closure. But today… feels good to have some closure on part of this story.”
“I’ve watched other police families go through this, but I hadn’t done it myself,” said the officer’s wife, Kelli Lowe, who works with local police wives. “And when you’re going through it yourself, it’s certainly different. This is a very hard process for anyone, but especially a law enforcement family.”
Sergeant Lowe has returned to work as a changed man and a changed officer.
“Since I’ve been back to work, I’ve interviewed victims or witnesses to crimes,” he explained. “Before I felt more like a note taker: What happened? Who did this to you? Ok, we’ll get them, wait on my call. Now I feel like I’m more attached, sympathetic to the victims' feelings and not just taking down on a sheet of paper.”
His family is changed, too.
“It’s his calling, it’s what he's going to do it’s what he wants to do,” Kelli said. “He’s good at it, so as a police wife, I readjust.”
“I'm there to do my job and do my part to make the city safer. Not only for my family but for the whole city now,” Sgt. Lowe added.
The Lowes joined another St. Louis police officer shot on duty to form Project HURT, a support organization for law enforcement officers injured on the job.
“There’s nothing like shared experiences,” Kelli said. “We saw a need and we felt like, well, let’s take wha happened to us and make something good out of it.”
Sgt. Lowe will return to court soon, for the next suspect’s trial. He expects it will be difficult.
“Keep pushing. That’s all I [have] to do at this point, I don’t want to stop. Keep the momentum going, then when this is over in next couple weeks I can take a deep breath and say -- ok, I can move on.”
“We have to trust the system, like everybody else,” Kelli added. “And keep moving forward.”
More information will become available as this story develops.
