In the seconds after a doctor told Christina Parks her husband was dead, she didn't have time to process the pain.
What she saw was the contorting of her daughter's face from across the room.
Just minutes before, Parks, her daughter and her father were in the car, making a trip from Jonesboro to Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock. She assumed her husband, Vincent, had a minor medical issue while training at the state's police academy on July 17.
"No part of me thought the situation was critical on the way there," Parks said.
It wasn't long after arrival that she was told the man she fell in love with 18 years earlier was dead.
"She just screamed," Parks said of her 13-year-old daughter. "She was hyperventilating. I'm on my knees trying to help her breathe."
Jonesboro officer Vincent Parks, 38, died after training for about 25 minutes in extreme heat, an Arkansas State Police investigative file shows. Originally state officials released a statement saying he hadn't participated in physical activity prior to his death. It took nearly a month after multiple questionings for officials to correct the statement.
A criminal investigation that resulted in no action was launched by Arkansas State Police after Parks' death, a civil complaint has been filed and currently a House bill to create an act in his name is moving through the state's Legislature.
On the morning of July 17, Parks skipped meeting other police cadets from Jonesboro for breakfast so he could spend more time with his family, Christina said.
The cadets are housed at the Arkansas Law Enforcement Academy during the the 13-week basic training course.
"He was just so worried to leave us behind," Christina Parks said, reflecting on the morning. "He hugged us and just sobbed."
She watched him get in his car. Then she watched him get back out of his car for one last hug and "I love you" before driving off.
Vincent was a father who never missed a dance competition for the couple's daughter, Vivianna "Vivi" Parks, Christina Parks said.
"He was the best girl dad," she said.
The two met when Christina was 19 years old and Vincent 20 years old. Christina became pregnant soon after starting college. The couple decided she would stay in school and Vincent would help with child care, she said.
She would go to classes and Vincent would watch Vivi during the day. At night he would go to a cook job at Cracker Barrel and Christina would take the night shift. This routine continued for years as Christina worked to attain her degree and then a career in social work, she said.
The couple was finally in a place financially and Vivi old enough for Vincent to pursue his dreams, she said.
"He always wanted to be in law enforcement," Parks said. "After a lot of late night conversations he decided to do it."
Parks said a lot of the discussion about law enforcement revolved around Vincent being a Black man.
"He wanted to make a difference in our community," Parks said. "Jonesboro is a small southern town. In the back of his mind he thought this could be bad. He also wanted to help re-establish trust in the community."
At first things went well, she said. Vincent quickly made friends with the other cadets and others in the Jonesboro Police Department.
He passed all his tests and made it through the review process, she said.
His first and only day on the job was directing traffic during the Fourth of July.
"He was so proud of directing traffic that day," she said, laughing. "We were so proud of him."
Vincent started preparing for the academy by running every day with 20-pound weights in a pack, Christina said while sitting at her lawyer's office. The boots Vincent wore when he died sat on the desk in front of her. Smudges of dirt still remained on the black material.
"There were days I would go with [him] and I couldn't keep up," she said.
After learning about her husband's death she just assumed it was a "freak accident," she said. She respected the academy and didn't want to believe in any wrongdoing in the weeks following Vincent's death, she said.
"I sent my husband to police officers to take care of him," Christina said. "I didn't want to hear it."
It was about three weeks after Vincent's death that she met with other cadets who were with him in training. They met her at a Kroger's parking lot and told her concerns they had about the training program.
The Arkansas State Police investigative summary mentions recruits claiming the training was "hazing" or a "smoke session" event because of the nature of activity being conducted in extreme heat on July 17.
All 28 recruits agreed that it was too hot of a day to be conducting physical training while wearing the black boots, khaki pants and polo-style shirt they were instructed to wear, the summary says.
Pulaski County prosecutor Larry Jegley did not bring criminal charges but released a letter in December that mentioned concerns about the culture of the training program "including hazing and the lack of helpful cooperation in the investigation."
On Thursday, House Bill 1458, which would create the Vincent Parks Act if approved, was unanimously moved through the House Committee on Public Heath, Welfare and Labor.
Christina sat next to bill sponsor Rep. Frances Cavenaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, as the bill was presented.
It will require all instructors at training programs to undergo training on how to recognize health conditions such as sudden cardiac arrest, dehydration and concussions. Instructors also will be required to recognize and manage environmental issues that threaten the health or safety of a person.
A complaint against the Arkansas Department of Public Safety and training academy employee Joe Duboise was filed with the Arkansas Claims Commission by Parks' attorney Jim Jackson last week. Damages are placed at $5 million in the complaint.
The claim calls the acts on July 17 by the training academy "hazing" and original statements that Parks didn't participate in training a "cover-up".
"This narrative was a bald-faced lie put forth by Central ALETA [Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy]," the claim states. "Central ALETA's instructors knew they had no excuse for making the new officers perform physical activities in the sun on the afternoon of July 17, 2022."
Officials with the Arkansas Department of Public Safety would not comment on pending legislation as of Saturday but previously said a review of training procedures at ALETA are a top priority.
Christina said she is determined to making sure change happens at the training program so that no one else loses their life.
"I didn't get to spend the rest of my life with him but I am blessed for the 18 years I had with him," she said Thursday. "You don't get relationships like that anymore. It was real old school."