PORT ANGELES — It was the late Wally Davis for whom the bell tolled Sunday afternoon.
A crowd of nearly 100 people — most uniformed law enforcement officers — gathered in Veterans Memorial Park to pay tribute to the slain Clallam County sheriff’s deputy.
The ceremony concluded with the ringing of the Liberty Bell in the park at 1:39 p.m. — the time of Davis’ death exactly one year prior.
Thomas Martin Roberts, 54, of Port Angeles, is charged with aggravated first-degree murder in the shooting.
Roberts is expected to stand trial on Jan. 28, 2002, for the charge.
The bell rang 21 times to honor the 21 years of Davis’ law enforcement career.
“It has been exactly one year since we lost Wally,” Sheriff Joe Hawe said. “It is only proper that we respect his loss and gather here to memorialize our loss.”
Among family members attending the brief public tribute Sunday included the slain deputy’s parents, Ed and Betty Davis of the Seattle area; his adult sons, Jeff Davis and Josh Davis of Port Angeles; and his mother-in-law, Pat Kimball of Port Angeles.
Davis’ wife, Lisa, who gave birth to a third son, Joshua, in March, and teen-age daughter, Jessica Davis, did not attend the ceremony.
Davis, 48, died in the Olympic Memorial Hospital emergency room at 1:39 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2000, of wounds he received when he was shot while responding to a call on East Ennis Creek Road.
This full report appears in today’s Clallam County edition of the Peninsula Daily News. Click onto “Subscribe” to order your PDN to be delivered to your home or office.
