Jerry Don Davis was a 25-year-old trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety — Texas Highway Patrol when he was shot and killed on October 5, 1980, after stopping a vehicle for speeding on U.S. 84 near Slaton, Texas. He had served just under two years. Davis called in the vehicle’s plate; when he did not respond to dispatch, a patrol unit found him slumped over his steering wheel with a single gunshot wound to the head and holding the 21-year-old suspect’s driver’s license in his hand.

The suspect, who had been driving a stolen vehicle unknown to Davis at the time of the stop, was apprehended two days later in Liberal, Kansas. That person was convicted of capital murder on February 20, 1981, and sentenced to life in prison. Trooper Davis was remembered by colleagues and the community for his dedication and kindness.

Does anyone have memories of Trooper Davis, the highway patrol unit in Slaton, or the events of that night to add to the record?