ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – Family, friends, and colleagues gathered at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park to honor a fallen comrade. Through stories and song, the gathered remembered Captain David Dorn, who was killed June 2, 2020, while interrupting a looting in progress at a north St. Louis pawn shop.
“We arrested many burglars,” said Col. Reggie Harris, Dorn’s former colleague. “Dave always taught me and insisted that the officers on his squad we apprehended people and we showed them dignity while being arrested.”
The Ethical Society of Police hosted the memorial event for Captain Dorn, who served 38 years with the St. Louis police force and later the Moline Acres police chief.
“Captain David Dorn was posthumously awarded the department’s highest honor the distinguished service citation due to his acts of courage and bravery during the June 2 incident at Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry,” said St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones attended the luncheon and memorial to support Dorn’s family and recognize his service.
“It’s a shame how he lost his life protecting the pawn shop of one of his friends,” she said.
Dorn’s name will adorn two stretches of roadways—along the 4100 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive at Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry and along a portion of Interstate 70—as the Captain David Dorn Memorial Highway.
“Dave was larger than life. He was a great man and he has huge shoes to fill,” said Ann Dorn. “He was a mentor to so many people in his career. Didn’t matter their race or their background. He loved his police officers, and he took care of all of them, and he took care of his community. He loved his community and he would do anything for everybody. And that’s what police officers are supposed to do. He’s the epitome of a true policeman.”
