GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Greensboro City Council Member Zach Matheny stopped by the Greensboro Police Department with his kids to pay their respects to fallen Greensboro Police Sergeant Dale Nix.
“Just gut-wrenching,” Mathany said.
A suspect shot and killed Nix Saturday evening when he tried to stop them from stealing beer from a Sheetz on Sandy Ridge Road in Colfax. On Monday, the memorial outside of the GPD headquarters grew as dozens stopped by to remember Nix.
“This is a tragedy for this man, this hero,” said Kristi Luther, who lives in Greensboro.
Nix is a hero to Luther. She never met him but still felt she owned him gratitude.
“They selflessly are heroes every single day, and I hope they know how much we appreciate them, but it is very difficult to convey that every day, but this was one small way to come down here and tell this man and his family ‘thank you,'” Luther said.
Flowers, badges from other departments, a candle and notes sit across the front of a police car set up as a memorial.
“We just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to Sgt. Nix, to his family and to all the women and men that serve us,” Matheny said.
It’s a message of support and love heard across Greensboro.
“Also knowing our community was better because of him, and we will continue to remember him and dedicate this year to him,” said Taiwo Jaiyeoba, the Greensboro city manager.
Jaiyeoba stopped at the memorial on Monday. He asked the community to step up in wake of the tragedy.
“We have to keep holding together. That was our 73rd homicide. We have to continue to hold together as a community knowing well that one way we can really serve his memory well is to make sure if you see something, say something,” Jaiyeoba said.
The first day of the new year is a time to start living for the legacy of Nix for some.
“I don’t make resolutions, but I do today: To just be thankful for what we got, be appreciative and to love a little bit more because we know what it is like to have loss,” Matheny said.
Nix worked closely with the Guilford County Family Justice Center.
“We are a homicide prevention initiative. We know those red flags and things that can prevent homicides from happening, and so for our hero here to become a victim of homicide … hasn’t set in,” said Catherine Johnson, the director at the Family Justice Center.
Those who worked with him describe him as passionate, a mentor and truly a one in a million man. Members at the Family Justice Center say he will be irreplaceable, but their mission of justice just got amplified.
“We know Dale would charge us to keep the mission forward, and he was a true champion for the mission of our work, and we will continue that work in the honor of his name,” Johnson said.
Nix was known around the FJC as Dale.
“He filled these halls with a big voice,” Johnson said.
For nearly six years at the FJC, Nix poured his heart into helping the vulnerable in the community.
“He just was on fire for doing what was right, on fire for advocating for vulnerable people, on fire for holding people accountable for the crimes that people committed, and that fire was contagious. If you were in a room with him, you just leaned into that, and you walked out feeling a little more sparked up and little more motivated. He was a driving force here at the center,” Johnson said.
His reach went far beyond the Triad. Nix taught at trainings and webinars nationally and even spoke at the International Family Justice Center conference.
“He was the role model for how you deal with somebody in a thoughtful, respectful, caring way, but how you still take a stand for what is right and for what is wrong,” said Casey Gwinn, the president of the Alliance for Hope International.
It’s the same thing he did the day of the tragedy. Nix was an off duty officer who tried to stop people from stealing beer at the gas station.
“Sgt. Nix is one of the most passionate professionals I have ever worked with. If we would be out somewhere, I would say, ‘This is the best cop that I know,’” Johnson said.
There is a hole in their hearts and a memorial up in the office, but the work continues in his honor.
“We know what he would do. He would expect us to put on our FJC jackets, be a champion for this cause and keep up the fight because the fight is a hard fight,” Johnson said.
As the flowers out continue to pile up on the police car outside of the GPD headquarters, the messages to the FJC also add up for the people sharing stories of how Nix impacted them.
Even after his death, they know the work he has done will live on through the people he has helped.
A former co-worker of Nix who worked with him when he was a telecommunicator dispatching police and fire spoke about her memories of working with him.
April Loftis said she was shocked and deeply saddened when she learned of his death. She trained under him for several months back when police and fire 911 operators were under GPD in communications before they transitioned under Guilford Metro.
“Honestly, he was one of the most … truly genuine people that I have ever met in my life. And I always had a smile for you,” Loftis said.
Before he became an officer, Nix was still in the business of helping others.
He worked as a telecommunicator non-sworn under GPD communications from Sept. 1998 to June 2001, helping to dispatch police and fire to emergencies.
“One of his favorite positions was fire. He’s got a lot of ties to the city as far as fire department is concerned, and he liked dispatching fire,” Loftis said.
Loftis said his helpful spirit carried over when he assisted with training her whenever her main supervisor was not available.
“He truly did like to help people … It didn’t matter whether it was helping you learn the job, learn how to dispatch, make fun of you,” Loftis said. “If you if you mess something up, laugh with you.”
She said Nix was kind to everyone and always maintained an optimistic and friendly spirit.
“They called me Junior. He was one of the only people that was left that would still call me Junior to this day, and I’ve been here for almost 24 years,” Loftis said.
His death impacted many who knew him.
Loftis said even after he stopped working as a telecommunicator and became a GPD officer, Nix would stop by and check-in with his former co-workers.
