N.Y. state trooper killed answering domestic dispute
Shooter took wife’s life before yielding
A New York state trooper killed when responding to a domestic violence call was a veteran officer and married father of three who coached youth sports and was committed to making his community better, his commanding officer said Monday.
Trooper Joel Davis, 36, was shot Sunday as he approached a couple’s double-wide mobile home in Theresa, State Police Superintendent George Beach II said. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Walters, 32, also killed his wife, Nichole, 27, before surrendering moments later to other officers at the scene, Beach said.
Another woman who also lived on the property, Rebecca Finkle, was wounded but her injuries were not considered life-threatening, Beach said. Two small children were found at the scene unharmed, he said.
Walters was arraigned on charges of first-degree and second-degree murder and remanded to the Jefferson County Jail without bail.
Beach said Nichole Walters, shot multiple times, was found dead on the driveway. Davis was shot once, the bullet eluding the plate in his vest. His body was found in a nearby ditch. He leaves behind two sons, ages 18 and 17, and a 13-year-old daughter.
“He was extremely active in his community, a husband, a father, coached sports,” Beach said. “This is a terrible loss for everybody.”
Theresa is a village of less than 1,000 people near the Canadian border, about 185 miles northwest of Albany. Justin Walters en- listed in 2007 and was an Afghanistan combat veteran assigned to nearby Fort Drum.
Beach said the outpouring of support already was tremendous.
“In communities like this, people value and love the police,” he said. “There are already signs up paying tribute to Trooper Davis.”
Davis, a four-year veteran of the force, is the second officer killed in the state in less than a week. New York City Police Officer Miosotis Familia, 48, a mother of three, was fatally shot in her patrol car early Thursday; the suspect was killed moments later in a confrontation with police.
“The entire New York family grieves for @nyspoliceTrooper Joel Davis, who was shot and killed in the line of duty Sunday night in Theresa,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted. “I ask all New Yorkers to keep Trooper Davis’ family, loved ones and colleagues in the state police in their prayers.”
Later, Cuomo issued a statement noting that the tragedy “is yet another sad reminder of the risks law enforcement officers face each day in order to protect our communities and serve the residents of this great state.”