A retired police captain was shot and killed while responding to reports of looting at a pawn shop in St. Louis, the media reports.
David Dorn, 77, who retired from the force in 2007 after 38 years with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, sadly was killed on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, named for the slain civil rights leader, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated.
At about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Dorn reportedly responded to a call at the Lee’s Pawn & Jewelry in North St. Louis. Officers soon found Dorn with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He died at the scene.
Missouri Rep. Rasheen Aldridge said he was especially traumatized as he saw the body on Facebook Live.
“Things escalated at the Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry shop, where the man was killed, and to see his body, I mean, on Facebook, it was almost like, you know, that’s how we’ve seen George Floyd’s body, and, you know, that’s not the change that we are pushing for,” Aldridge told “St. Louis on the Air” radio show.
St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden paid homage to Dorn at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. He also discussed the damage to more than 55 businesses during marches in honor of George Floyd, who died on Memorial Day, May 25, in Minneapolis.
“During a looting process, David Dorn was exercising law enforcement training that he learned here, so in his honor, we are wearing our mourning bands,” Hayden said.
Former St. Louis Police Chief Tim Fitch, who is now a councilman, also offered his condolences to the Dorn family.
A true public servant. Protecting & serving all the way to the end. None of us who knew you are surprised you went out fighting at Lee's Pawn this morning. God speed my friend. #DavidDorn pic.twitter.com/i9X7q9hKIc
— Tim Fitch 🇺🇲 (@ChiefTimFitch) June 2, 2020
Fourth Ward Committeewoman Dwin Evans conducted a sobering inventory of the damage to businesses along the MLK Drive corridor. She said she empathizes with the protesters’ demands for the end of police brutality, but she called for more protections by police for businesses against looters.
“We’re trying to continue Sam Moore’s vision — restoring the 4th Ward. And then all of this happened — the COVID-19 and then the rioting,” she said.
