WASHINGTON — To family and friends, Wayne David was a protector, and he took that passion to work every day as a D.C. Police Officer.
His older sister, Debra Scarbrough-Drummond, is still in disbelief.
“It’s like I’m in the twilight zone," she said. "You know it happened, but you can’t believe it has happened.”
Scarbrough-Drummond says David was the youngest of eight children. She says most of his friends and family didn't call him by his name.
"We called him Goldie," she said, after D.C. native Max Julien's role in the 1973 movie 'The Mack'. "When he was born, I would call him that. He looked nothing like the guy that played that part, but the name stuck."
Scarbrough-Drummond says the last time she spoke to David, he was on a vacation in Mexico.
"I talked to his girlfriend this morning and she told me that he said when we get home, we’ve got to go see my big sis and make sure she’s okay," said Scarbrough-Drummond. “He came back home Sunday and three days later he was gone.”
Killed while recovering a suspect’s loaded gun after it was allegedly ditched in a storm drain on Wednesday. That gun accidentally fired, hitting David.
“We didn’t get to say goodbye, we didn’t get to say goodbye," said Scarbrough-Drummond.
She says David, who was with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for 25 years, followed his older brother into law enforcement who was also a police officer with D.C. Police for 25 years before retiring.
"MPD really brought out more of what he had in him to serve and to help and to commit," said Scarbrough-Drummond.
Scarbrough-Drummond is also grateful for the supportive community during this difficult time.
"I just want to thank everybody who is pouring out so much support for me, my family, my niece and my nephew, Wayne’s daughter and son," said Scarbrough-Drummond.
Members of the community are holding a vigil for the fallen officer on Monday night at 18th and Bryant Street in Northeast.
Funeral services for David are scheduled for Sept. 12 at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington.