D.C. police Investigator Wayne David died Wednesday after a gun he was trying to retrieve from a storm drain accidentally fired, hitting him in the upper body. He was 52.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith got emotional Thursday while talking about David's death, calling what happened a tragedy. Outside the department's Special Operations Division, a memorial grew around his police cruiser, which was covered in photos and flowers.
At David’s church, National Community Church in Southeast D.C., he was remembered as a man with a big heart and a big smile who loved to give back.
As a member of the congregation, he also provided security for the church.
“Very easy to talk to, very easy to engage and a non-threatening presence, in spite of the badge, in spite of having all the regalia,” Pastor Ernest Clover said.
“Officer David was the epitome of community policing,” a fellow officer wrote on Facebook. “He regularly worked overtime at the Metro stations and would challenge high school students with trivia before they could pass, just to make sure they were keeping up with their studies.”
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Metro recently honored David for helping disarm a woman who was threatening officers with a knife at the Fort Totten station.
Since 2007, David worked as a crime scene search officer, recovering illegal guns across the city.
“For him this wasn’t just a job,” Carroll said. “Every day he went out, he engaged the kids that were out there, trying to put them on the right path. Talking to people, making sure they were doing the right things.”
One officer said you could never tell when David had a bad day because he always had a smile on his face.
“Praying his family would know, OK, I know my dad did all this other stuff and I know he was at that church, but I didn’t know he had that type of impact,” Clover said.
It began with a police stop of a suspicious car
It began near DC-295 in the 4500 block of Quarles Street NE at about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Police were conducting a routine stop for what they described as a suspicious car when a suspect ran from the car and onto 295. Officers saw the suspect throw a gun into a storm drain, Executive Assistant Chief of Police Jeffrey Carroll said.
David, a 25-year veteran, was retrieving the gun when it went off.
Police are still looking for the suspect who threw the gun into the drain. He fled the scene after jumping on the back of a motorcycle.
The person who drove the motorcycle came forward and was cooperating with investigators, police said Friday. He said he was driving in the area when the suspect jumped on his motorcycle and he thought the person was in trouble and needed help, police said.
On Thursday, Smith urged the suspect to turn himself in. MPD, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are offering a $50,000 reward in the case.
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Smith told reporters ATF is examining the gun. The serial number was scratched off.
MPD's Internal Affairs Division is investigating to see if department protocols were followed in the recovery of the weapon.
Smith indicated that David had a body-worn camera.
CORRECTION (10:12 p.m., Aug. 30, 2024): Wayne David was an "investigator." This article previous referred to him as an "inspector."
