CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Officer JC Stanton answered a call at 5 a.m. to this quiet neighborhood street in west Charlotte almost 46 years ago, he had no way of knowing it could've been his last.
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“It was just one of those days when the guy came out on the porch, he said, 'Officer, I knew you were coming. I've been waiting on you. This is my appointed hour to die. I'm going to take you with me,'” said Stanton.
Larry Walker was Stanton's partner that day.
“It was a hot summer. He was sweaty and he said he'd been waiting on us, so then it was on,” said Walker.
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The officers said they started fighting with the man but they couldn’t overpower him.
“Finally, he got Stanton's gun. I don't know how he got it. Either pulled it out of his holster or while we were fighting it fell out and he started shooting,” said Walker.
Stanton said as he was reaching to get his gun back, the man pulled the trigger. The gunman emptied his revolver, hitting the officer five times.
“I grabbed the end of the barrel and that's how he shot my finger. By the time the shooting was over, I was shot through my leg, I was shot through my hip and my stomach. I was shot through my right arm, had the tip of my finger shot off my left hand. I had one bullet hit my shield -- pushed it all the way to my rib cage,” said Stanton.
After being shot, Stanton was able to make it to his police car to call for backup.
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“Larry was standing over top of me and he said, ‘Stanton how bad are you hit?’ I said, 'Larry I'm bleeding to death,'” Stanton said.
Walker said he then saw the man reaching for a shotgun in their patrol car so he opened fire.
“I said something's got to be done now, and I just kept shooting until I emptied the gun and he finally succumbed,” he said.
Stanton credits his partner for saving his life that day. His partner said despite being afraid, he was just trying to make sure they both made it out alive.
“He shot the guy and if it hadn't been for Larry I would've died. I would've bled to death or the guy would've finished killing me,” he said.
Stanton survived and went on to work for 28 more years.
He has an enlarged picture of his badge showing where it stopped one of those bullets.
“When I was shot I was making $8.50 an hour. I had more bullet holes in me than dollars in my pocket at the end of the day,” he said.
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The belt he was wearing slowed down another and it's still on display in the lobby of the Police Department, along with his Silver Cross -- the first one ever awarded by Charlotte police.
After retiring from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in 2002, Stanton said he’s never forgotten what it means to put on that uniform every day -- even after he stared death in the face -- and survived.