KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dewayne Day knows all too well the difficulties and challenges that come with working as a civil process server.
Day said hearing about the death of Drexel Mack hit close to home.
"My heart sank," he said. "This is one of our brothers; we are all one."
Alongside Mack, Day has worked as process server for Jackson County.
“This should have never come to this," he said.
Day estimates there are more than 400 process servers working for the Jackson County.
He said the fear of the unexpected is something they deal with while on the job.
Day too, has seen the dangers of the job.
"I had a subject approach me with a gun when I was doing a serve," he said. “At that point, I said I need to change how I do things. Now I pray every time I step out of the car, I watch, I pray that I’m able to go home."
Day said his father and father-in-law are in law enforcement, and the expectation to always be aware of his surroundings is ingrained in him.
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"It makes you stop and think; it makes you wonder if it’s all worth it," he said.
Families of those who do the job feel the fear of the unexpected too.
KSHB 41's Megan Abundis spoke with a woman whose husband works for the county, but did not want to be identified.
“I am the wife of a process server with Jackson County courts," she said. “I think that his safety is in jeopardy every day.”
She says last night that fear inched closer to reality.
"Every single time they go somewhere, it’s for something unpleasant," she said. "You’re either kicking someone out of their house or you owe a lot of money, an ex parte — it's volatile situations that can pop off at any time. It is dangerous."
The woman said the first thing she did last night was reach out to her spouse.
“That’s the first thing you do — hug him and selfishly think, 'I’m glad it wasn’t me,' but then you instantly feel horrible for the people it did affect," she said. “Am I going to be next? Am I going to get that call?"
Both she and Day are pushing for changes in civil servant work, including increased backup, serving in pairs, more training on how to deal with who’s on the other side of the door, and state protections.
“They are all just going to do their jobs, and we want them to come home safe," the woman said. “It’s just sad and something has to change."
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