Shot in the chest while driving a Metro bus through Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood last year, Edmonds resident Eric Stark admits he has a special spot in his heart for law enforcement. In fact, he credits two Seattle police officers with saving his life after the shooting, when they cut open his clothing and pushed gauze against his bleeding wound, between his left shoulder and his heart.
To show his thanks for the challenging work police are often called to do, Stark has been handing out a special gift to Seattle-area officers: A pocket-sized medallion known as a challenge coin. On Tuesday, he stopped by the Edmonds Police Station to present a coin to each of Edmonds’ on-duty officers.
“I’m truly grateful for the job you do every day,” Stark said during a brief presentation outside the station.
Challege coins are commonly presented by both military commanders and U.S. Presidents to service members as a sign of camaraderie. In recent years they have also been popular among first responders.
The man suspected of shooting Stark, Tad Michael Norman, is awaiting trial on two murder charges and three counts of attempted murder. According to charging documents, on March 27, 2019 Norman fatally shot retired doctor Robert Michael Hassan, and crashed into a car, killing driver Richard T. Lee, a retired French horn player and Seattle City Light worker. Schoolteacher Deborah L. Judd was wounded.
After he was shot, Stark was able to put the bus in reverse and get his passengers out of harm’s way — and he is credited with saving their lives. The King County Sheriff’s Office recognized his actions by creating a Medal of Heroism award for community members who go above and beyond to save lives. Stark was the first recipient.
But Tuesday morning’s ceremony wasn’t about Stark. It was about recogizing local officers for the work they do.
“I want you guys to know especially in these difficult times, it’s not really popular to be a police officer but most people in the community respect, appreciate and support you,” Stark said. “Not just what you do but you as people, as individuals.”
A former pastor who started driving a bus nine years ago, Stark was born and raised in Edmonds, attending Meadowdale Elementary, Meadowdale Junior High and Meadowdale High School. He and his wife Kim, also a Metro bus driver, have been married for 33 years.
While he has made the rounds of Seattle police precincts to present coins to officers there, he said it was important to also visit officers who serve Edmonds.
“I’ve always had a great respect and appreciation for law enforcement but it was really brought home to me personally when I met and received aid the day of the shooting,” Stark said. “I just wanted to say thank you.”
The coin is inscribed with the words justice, excellence, humility and compassion. “The latter two words are often not what people think of when they think of police officers, Stark said, “but I’ve gotten to meet many, many officers in the last couple of years and I can sincerely say, you guys are some of the kindest, most servant-hearted people I’ve met.”
— By Teresa Wippel
Wow, where can I get some of these coins to hand out to our fine law enforcement officers? Thank you so much Mr. Stark for showing how the vast majority of our citizens really feel about our police!
Mr. Stark, you speak for so many of us when you state that police officers are “some of the kindest, most servant-hearted people…” you can ever meet.
It is past time to push back against the hate-the-police culture that has prevailed this summer. Mr. Stark tells a story about the truth of the police. This story needs to be told more and more to cancel out the haters who cast all police as evil and push this non-sensical defunding effort. More police on the street means more safety for our citizens and less crime. Anyone with even an ounce of common sense and intellect understands this.
Mr. Stark, continued success in your recovery and again, thank you for showing your appreciation to our fine police. You yourself saved lives with your brave actions in that terrible event. You are no doubt a hero to many!
Well stated Mark, and thank you, Mr. Stark for your for honoring those who came to your aid in that terrible incident, and your personal heroism. Many years ago I spent 13 months in what was termed a Hostile Fire Zone, a war. During that year I witnessed many acts of courage , many, but not most, not directly related to hostile fire. They were primarily individual acts of people reacting to a critical situation and responding. That was a short period of my long life. Because of those brief experiences, I have formed an appreciation for what our police and first responders face in their daily work, over their entire working life. Every call is important, and every response may be critical. Police responding to violence or serious incidents /accidents, and fire and medic units rushing into a burning building or responding to an emergency is done to serve and protect us.
I’d also like some of those coins to offer police officers. I imagine after this summer their morale isn’t high. Edmonds (being Edmonds afterall) didn’t seem that bad, I am sure events in Seattle probably affected our officers here as well. You do see ACAB sprayed here and there, but I imagine the cops know it is mostly edgy children.
I am sure that there are racist police officers in every force in our country. And when those officers racism leads to racist actions, they should be punished. But the truth is, we will have racist cops for as long as we have racist people in our society. I pray that one day we won’t have a racism problem, but find me one country that doesn’t have one. But there absolutely is nothing inherently racist about being a police officer. It is a selfless, difficult job that deserves a lot of respect, and it disappoints me that my generation and the generation before me don’t see it that way.