Ptlm. David Coker 1948-1979 |
David Coker was born July 29, 1948, and joined the New Mexico State Police on October 1, 1975. He was initially assigned to Santa Fe, then transferred to Santa Rosa about a year later. On November 19, 1979, David was operating a stopwatch zone on I-40 west of Santa Rosa. He stopped an eastbound black and red 1966 Corvette with California license plates. The driver got out of the vehicle and approached the officer's unit. The suspect produced a .38 caliber revolver and pointed it at David. Apparently, the suspect made the officer empty his service revolver on the right seat of the patrol car; his pistol was found on the floorboard. According to witnesses, the suspect was standing by the open door on the passenger side of the police car and pointing a revolver at the officer who was standing about 15 feet from the unit, down an embankment. |
|
| David started taking off his
jacket and pulled out a secondary weapon, a .38 caliber revolver, that
was hidden
in a holster sewn on the inside of his coat.
He drew the weapon and both the officer and the suspect fired at the same time.
David’s bullet struck the suspect in the upper chest area and
the suspect’s bullet hit David above the left eye, killing him
instantly.
After being shot, the suspect staggered around to the front of the police car and fell onto the roadway. The suspect dropped his revolver and was trying to retrieve it when a motorist who had stopped at the scene kicked it away from him. The suspect died of his injury en route to the hospital. Further investigation revealed the suspect was not wanted and the Corvette was borrowed. He had stolen a credit card from his roommate and had forged the signature on a gas ticket. No reason was ever known for the suspect’s actions.
|
||
