FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. — February 21, 2021 is a day former Kernersville officer Sean Houle and his wife, Ellie, will never forget.
"That day was just as normal as any other day though. I left I pulled down the driveway. She’s out on the front porch with the kids. I always would either bump my siren, or turn on the lights for the kids, they always liked that. Then I would pull out the driveway and head on to Kernersville," said Houle.
Around 4 a.m., Houle was shot during a traffic stop in Kernersville.
"I went on that whole night working that shift having no idea that at 3:30 in the morning I was going to be laying in a cold parking lot on cold asphalt between a dumpster and a 90s model Toyota Corolla fighting for my life," said Houle.
As he was being rushed to the hospital, his wife's phone rang.
On the other end of the line, her husband's Chief of Police.
"I immediately knew that this was not good. Basically, it was just a very short, to the point conversation. He let me know that Sean had been shot. His words were 'he is okay right now, but he has been shot in the face'," said Ellie Houle.
Officer Houle spent days fighting for his life.
"When I wake up and see her, and in that moment of God and I high-fiving, you know you lived, then the work started," said Houle.
"He couldn't talk, but I could just tell by his eyes, the connection that we made, that it was still Sean. Like I said, they were still so many questions that we had, was he going to have any deficits from a stroke or whatever, but I didn't even need him to talk to me or anything, I could just tell that connection that we made with his eyes that he's going to be okay," said Ellie Houle.
"There isn't a day that passes that I don't realize how fortunate, blessed I am to be living. Because, from a medical standpoint, strictly medical standpoint, there really isn't reason why I should. There just isn't. It's severed carotid, artery, bleeding out over 3 times and 72 units of blood I mean a stroke, I shouldn't have. But that's not my story," said Houle.
Houle relied on his faith to get through months of rehabilitation and multiple surgeries.
Last week, he was able to gain some closure.
On February 13th, Quinton Blocker, the man who tried to take his life, was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
"What was going through my mind was, all right, I know how I feel, I know that I have forgiven him, how was I going to deliver that message to him? That was the question in my mind, how was I going to deliver that message to him?" said Houle. "I looked at him, he looked at me, and I deliver that message of forgiveness to him. I wanted him to know that he was forgiven for me, that I didn't hate him, that I never would hate him."
Houle said he hopes Blocker will turn his life around in prison and turn to God.
He said as they left the courtroom, Blocker acknowledged him and apologized.
"Behind the courthouse in a little room, we had face-to-face contact, and he actually apologized which was another thing that was big for me, closure was obtained," said Houle.
Houle's wife, Ellie said, "I was just super proud of how he handled that whole thing. He blessed a lot of people by saying what he said."
Houle is medically retired from the Kernersville Police Department.
He and his wife lead the youth group at Floyd Missionary Baptist Church in Eden.
With this chapter finally closed, Houle has vowed to spend more time... loving life...with his wife and two sons.
"My story is certainly always going to be a message of hope and encouragement, and I am going to take advantage of every second that I have to take a breath here on this earth, absolutely," said Houle.