Photos by IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers BITTERSWEET MEMORIAL—Markay Capozzoli, with her husband Ronald, above, holds a replica of the sign now hanging at Alamo Street and Officer Michael Clark Memorial Parkway after the Monday afternoon dedication ceremony to rename the street for her late son, a Simi Valley police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1995. Jenifer Clark, Michael Clark's widow, right, embraces City Manager Mike Sedell following the ceremony for her late husband. City officials, Simi Police, and family and friends of Officer Michael Clark gathered outside the Simi Valley Police Department Monday to dedicate a piece of the city to its first fallen police officer.

As a tribute to Clark's service and sacrifice, Officer Michael Clark Memorial Parkway is now the name of the street formerly called Civic Center Way.

Monday's dedication ceremony marked the 13th anniversary of Clark's death. On Aug. 4, 1995, the 28-year-old officer, who had been with the department for only five months, was fatally shot while checking on the welfare of a suicidal man.

Clark's cousin, Lynette Dondero, said the memorial was a long time coming.

"We've been waiting for this day," she said. "It's overdue."

The renamed street is currently a vehicular entrance to the police station on Alamo Street, about 500 feet west of Tapo Canyon Road, but it is expected to become the main entrance to city hall after a proposed expansion of the facility.

Simi Police Chief Mike Lewis said the location of the street is the perfect place to honor Clark. The sign also serves as a general thank-you to the men and women of the department who risk their lives every day to protect the city, he said.

"I think any officer that is killed in the line of duty should be recognized in the community they worked," Lewis said. "Unfortunately, (Clark) was the first one taken from us, and hopefully he will be the last."

Detective Sgt. Tony Anzilotti, who was Clark's supervising officer at the time and was with him on the welfare call, said he got choked up during the unveiling of the street sign but that the memorial is another chapter toward closure.

"It's going to serve as a constant reminder of who he was, what he did and what he stood for," Anzilotti said. "It gives some vindication that Michael was a good man, doing the right thing and that this was a tragedy of massive proportions."

He said Monday was the first Aug. 4 he had worked since the shooting 13 years ago, having always made it a point to take the day off to reflect.

"It was very difficult to lose a subordinate," Anzilotti said. "It was very emotional, the worst day of my life."

More than a decade later, the memory of Clark is strong.

"It's just so nice that my son is still remembered after all these years," said Markay Capozzoli, Clark's mother. "And I'm truly grateful."

Capozzoli, along with Clark's widow, Jenifer, and son Bayley, helped pull the cord to unveil the new street sign, embracing each other amidst applause from the crowd.

"I feel very happy my father has his own street," said Bayley, 13, who was only 5 months old when his father was killed.

For Jenifer Clark, seeing the sign was bittersweet.

"It makes everything real," she said. "Time heals, but bringing up little things, it brings it all back. You never get over something like this; you just learn to adjust your life around it."

Still, she said, she is glad her husband's death has not gone unnoticed and that the memorial is something people will see every day—something even her son can take his children and grandchildren to.

Clark was honored after his death with a small memorial plaque under an oak tree outside the police station, but the City Council proposed in March to rename the street after the city's only officer killed in the line of duty.

One of Clark's aunts, Thelma Maitland, said the officer's late father and uncle would have been proud to see Clark recognized.

"I wish my brothers, Michael's father and uncle, were here," she said before the unveiling. "They would have been so proud to have seen this now. I know all three are together now, watching."

Capozzoli said there is not a day that goes by that the Clark family doesn't think of Michael.

"We miss him so much. He's with us every day," she said. "He was our hero, for sure."