Wednesday, Aug

Respects

from page A1

“His integrity was beyond reproach, his leadership was always from the front,” said Sgt. Chris Cushman, adding that Clancy knew how to diffuse tense situations way before the idea of “de-escalation” became part of the law enforcement vernacular.

Unafraid to respond to a call or arrive first on the scene, officers respected the way Clancy wasn’t afraid to “get dirty,” Cushman said.

Others remembered Clancy for the way he could find common ground with anyone he met.

“He judged me by the content of my character,” said North Charleston Police Chief Reggie Burgess.

After meeting Clancy at SWAT training in Charleston, the two became fast friends, Burgess said, and would often get together to share a meal and exchange thoughts and ideas on the business of community policing.

“We talked a lot about leadership, a lot about service, a lot about dedication and most of all the thing that Matt and I believed in is this – we have to be about the people’s business,” he said, adding that people just want peace and tranquility in their communities. “That was Matt.”

But above all else, he was a husband and a family man, said his sons who recounted the nearly daily example Clancy set for them — such as the time their father came home late one night battered, exhausted and covered in mud.

Having chasing an armed suspect into the marsh, Clancy had shattered his elbow, Tyler Clancy said. Despite the long night, his father was up the next morning, had breakfast already made for the family and was ironing his new uniform when Tyler rose.

“This kind of quiet strength was commonplace in my home, and I had the blessing of being raised by a man who taught me what character really was,” he said.

But his father also had a

SCHOLARSHIP FUND

A scholarship fund has been established by the family to honor and perpetuate Beaufort Police Chief Matthew “Matt” Clancy’s legacy of service to his country and the community. Those interested in honoring his memory are asked to consider donating to the fund in lieu of flowers. Checks can be made payable to the TCL Foundation, P.O. Box 2614, Beaufort, S.C. 29901. Please enter: Chief Matthew Clancy Criminal Justice Leadership Scholarship Fund in the memo. For more information or to make a donation online visit www.tcl.edu/ foundation.

big heart, he said, and was often humble about his accomplishments. He realized this even more after learning only recently of various commendations they never knew their father had received, such as one given to Clancy for rescuing an unconscious man from a burning car.

“What is truly amazing to me, despite the physical feat of ripping someone out of a burning car, is that we never of this story,” he said.

Or how his father, while out walking the dog, would spend time talking to a former Marine he had met who was battling PTSD. The man would later tell the chief’s son, “I didn’t know I was struggling but your father did.”

Tyler concluded his eulogy by saying he had given a lot of thought to why his father had been taken from them but spoke of his faith and strong belief, which he shared with his father.

He also said much had been said about his father’s battle with cancer, adding that cancer did not win.

“Cancer would have won if it took away our smiles, if it took away his laughter, if it took a way his drive, if it took away his passion, if it took away his faith,” he said. “But cancer lost because it could never take away my father’s spirit.”

Clancy is survived by his wife, Lisa, his sons, Tyler and Connor, mother, Phyllis, and many family members.

The funeral procession passes under the large American flag hanging over Bay Street on Friday as it makes its way to the Beaufort National Cemetery. Photos by Bob Sofaly.

Hundreds of law enforcement officials, first responders and friends of Chief Matthew Clancy of the City of Beaufort Police Department, gathered at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park to bid him farewell.

Lisa Clancy, center, clutches the flag that draped her husband, Matthew Clancy's casket. From left are Tyler Clancy, oldest son; Phyllis Sippel, mother, Lisa and youngest son Connor.