Fallen HPD officer is remembered as happy, selfless
At a candlelight service attended by more than 200 people, friends and colleagues remembered fallen Honolulu police officer Garret Davis as a happy and selfless person who loved serving others.
Davis was killed Jan. 21 while helping stranded motorists on the H-1 freeway.
According to police, Davis, a third-year officer assigned to the Wahiawa substation, was delivering paperwork to the main headquarters on Beretania Street when he stopped in the far, left-hand lane of the H-1 at the Kaonohi Street overpass to help two people in a stalled vehicle. Davis had pulled behind the stalled vehicle and turned on his blue lights when his car was struck from behind by a Chevrolet Silverado driven by a 41-year-old man.
Davis was 28.
“For someone so young, he was incredibly selfless,” said close friend Jamie Peterson. “He was everything I ever wanted to be as a friend. What he did that night, he would have done for any of us.”
The ceremony was attended by several HPD officers as well as a large contingent of motorcycle riders from Koa Puna and other local motorcycle clubs. The riders said they came to pay their respects to a brave public servant and join HPD in advocating for the so called “move-over” bill that would require motorists to keep a one-lane buffer between themselves and emergency response vehicles.
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Representatives from several tow companies were also in attendance.
Davis’ girlfriend, Vianca Solares, recalled her last morning with Davis and the pride that he expressed in his young daughter, McKenzie Rose, who lives in California.
“I would do anything for just one more second to hold on to him,” Solares said. “But now he’s my angel.”
HPD officer Cory Moore, who became friends with Davis when both were attending the police academy, said Davis was simply “a great guy.”
“He had an upbeat attitude,” Moore said. “He was always smiling. Whenever he entered a room, it was with a big smile. He loved being a cop.”