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City dedicates monument to officer who gave his life

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Neither the passage of time nor a strong wind could dry the tears of police officers who served with Dennie Quay Enevold.

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More than three decades after Enevold was killed in the line of duty, the city dedicated a monument to him and honored his life as a servant who gave his life protecting a community he loved.
Dean Clawson, Enevold's partner, said the two were "almost inseparable, working together as a team," rarely having to talk when they made a stop or an arrest.
"Dennie was one of those guys who was always fair to everybody, no matter who treated him poorly," Clawson said. "He'd say, 'I'm putting the cuffs on you, OK? You're under arrest, OK?' Used to drive the bad guys up the wall, asking if it was OK to do that.

"He was strong enough that I saw him pick up the back end of a Volkswagen all by himself one time," he said. "But he was mostly a mild guy. If you wanted to fight he could accommodate you but he didn't go looking for a fight. He was also full of surprises." Once he made a drug suspect cough up a bag of pot  by holding his nose so he couldn't swallow. People along Seventh Avenue and Green Meadows liked the officers. "At one point they started calling us Batman and Robin," he said.
One Christmas, Enevold learned of a family that had no fuel oil, no food and no Christmas presents. "Out of his own pocket he went out and bought those items for that family," Clawson said. "He didn't want any praise or anybody to fuss over him about that. He told me it was his community and he couldn't sit by and watch people go without food or heat during that special season of giving."
Enevold was shot to death with own service weapon after stopping a suspicious person in the early morning hours of Nov. 23, 1981. He was 33.

On Tuesday, under blue skies and strong gusts of wind, the city Police Department, nine police chiefs and sheriffs and family and friends honored the officer and his widow, Martha Enevold Gunter, his bride of just a year and a half when he died.
The Hendersonville police chief then, Larry Hesser, said no day goes by that he doesn't think of Enevold and the phone call he got that "Dennie was hurt." He was surprised at first, he said, because he knew that in a fight Dennie never lost. The officer exemplified duty, community and devotion, Hesser added, in ways that every officer should strive to follow.
"Duty is the obligation that he accepted when he took his path," said the former chief, who had to pause for a moment when he first stood at a lectern. "Honor stands for Dennie's character. I know about that. He and I went one-on-one two or three times, like several of y'all. Dennie could take it and he could feed it back to me.
"Community stands for love of community. Devotion means you're willing to make a sacrifice, and Dennie made many sacrifices when he was with our police department. I've often thought that murderer did not take his life. Dennie gave his life because he loved this community, everybody he worked with."
He recalled, too, that law officers responded with integrity and honor when their colleague was gunned down.
"I can't tell you how proud you made me as a chief, being there through that event, with all the emotions we had, grieving and anger and some revenge," he said. "But that never happened in the Hendersonville Police Department. The Hendersonville Police Department had more class than any place I've ever been."
Officers can see a portrait of Enevold on the left as they walk into the agency. Now, outside, they can see his monument on their right as they walk out to start their shift. Take that opportunity, Hesser urged the force, to follow his example.
"Dennie Enevold will be your mentor for as long as your career — duty, honor, community — and I want you to do your best to live up to Dennie Enevold's standard as a police officer in this great city of Hendersonville," he said.
A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace." The Rev. Chuck Evans prayed a benediction. Wind gusts whipped the American flag, which Eagle scouts had lowered to half staff. When a dispatcher called badge 113, no answer came. It was the end of watch for Dennie Quay Enevold.