PLATFORM : Slain Cop Had Established Sense of Mutual Respect

We got to know Officer Davis one day when (about eight guys) were throwing eggs at police cars. The police chased us to a friend’s house, and we were trapped and they busted in on us.

Officer Davis was one of the officers there. He took everybody’s names down, and he asked us why we did it. Why we be doing things like that, trying to see what was going on in our minds.

He was pretty nice officer . . . . He was a quiet-type officer, but he would talk to you like you were a human being, to see what was going on, to see if you had problems at home. He would joke around with you and stuff. He was pretty cool.

He’d let you slide a couple of times, like for a curfew violation. He would write your name down and then tell you to get in the house right now.

Most officers want to give you a hard time, hassle you, call for backup and take people down to the station and have their parents come and get them.

He gave me a little more respect for some officers from the law. At first I had no respect. I gave him respect because he gave me respect. He was like my friend.