WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Friends, neighbors and fellow officers are remembering fallen D.C. Police Inspector Wayne David, who died in the line of duty while trying to recover a gun from a drain last week.
On Monday night, dozens gathered at his home in Northeast.
His kids, siblings and fiancée were all choked up, but surrounded by support and love from the community.
People prayed and sang together, remembering him for being a kind and caring person and officer.
His fiancée Kalihah Barber wants him to be remembered “as a good person.”
“He loved this community. It’s the same community he grew up in,” she said.
ANC Commissioner Harry Thomas attended the vigil and was a longtime friend of David.
“To see him become the kind of officer who became in service to our community, this is why these people were here. And he was just a living example of what you should be as a community member,” Thomas said.
David’s neighbors recalled him helping them with big and small tasks, especially caring for the elderly.
“I would call him like an octopus. His tentacles reached out to many people and he touched many lives,” Thomas said.
Even through tears, David’s fiancée couldn’t help but smile.
“This right here, I know he’s smiling. This is everything. He’s smiling,” she said of the turnout at the vigil.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith noted how he’s taken thousands of guns off the streets in his 25-year career. But more than his job, she noted how he was a good person.
“You saw how many members talked about his commitment to just people, his service to people, his service to community. And I tell you, those are very few and far and in between. And we’re certainly going to miss his presence,” Smith said.
ANC Commissioner Harry Thomas is organizing a push to rename a part of Bryant Street NE, where he lived, to honor David.
