Murder of David Dorn

This article is about the former St. Louis County police chief who died in June 2020. For the Swiss economist, see David Dorn.

Murder of David Dorn

Part of George Floyd protests
Date	June 2, 2020 (2020-06-02)
Location	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Type	Shooting
Deaths	David Dorn
Arrests	Stephan Cannon, Jimmie Robinson

On June 2, 2020, David Dorn, a 77-year-old black American retired police captain, was fatally shot by a man looting a pawn shop during the George Floyd protests in St. Louis, Missouri.

Persons involved

• The victim, David Dorn (November 29, 1942 – June 2, 2020), was an African-American retired captain in the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis from November 1969 to October 2007. He later served as police chief of Moline Acres since February 2008.
• The accused shooter, Stephan Cannon, was an African-American 24-year-old man from St. Louis.

Incident

On June 2, 2020, Dorn was discovered on the sidewalk in front of Lee's Pawn and Jewelry around 2:30 am. He had reportedly been responding to the burglar alarm of his friend's pawn shop when he was fatally shot by unknown looters. His death was streamed on Facebook live.

The thirteen-minute video was briefly taken down by Facebook before being reinstated with a warning screen and has been viewed more than 94,000 times as of June 3. In the video, a young man states: "Oh my God, cuz....They just killed this old man at the pawn shop over some TVs....c'mon, man, thats somebody's granddaddy."

Investigation

St. Louis Police Commissioner John Hayden Jr. reported that no arrests were made and there is an active investigation.

Crime Stoppers offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest; this amount has been raised to $56,700.

On June 5, 2020 St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Section released surveillance footage to the public to expand clues and evidence in their investigation of David Dorn’s death. The video captured a total of seven suspects trespassing at Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry at 4123 Martin Luther King Drive. The footage was taken on June 2, 2020 from 2.13AM to 2.16AM. All suspects in the video had their faces concealed. Six wore masks and one had a white shirt wrapped around his face and head. At least two of the men were seen armed with handguns. One person pulled his handgun to target the entrance before joining the others. Another suspect had a cut on his left palm. The reward for additional information that could capture the criminals has been raised by $6,000 since the surveillance video’s release.

On Sunday, June 7, a twenty-four year old suspect named Stephan Cannon was arrested. He faces charges of first-degree murder, robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Aftermath

A small memorial was quickly set up outside the shop, with a handwritten sign stating; "Y'all killed a black man because 'they' killed a black man??? Rest in peace." St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden ordered all the departments officers to wear black mourning bands on their police badges to honor Dorn.

Several GoFundMe fundraisers quickly sprang up online, although none of them were endorsed by family members. A Fundly account has been endorsed by the family and they have asked for support of organizations such as CrimeStoppers or BackStoppers.

Reactions

His widow, Ann Marie Dorn told reporters that her husband was a friend of the owner of the store and would routinely check on the business when the alarm would go off.

The former St. Louis County Police Chief, Tim Finch called Dorn a "true public servant".

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, "Our highest respect to the family of David Dorn, a Great Police Captain from St. Louis, who was viciously shot and killed by despicable looters last night. We honor our police officers, perhaps more than ever before. Thank you!"

Missouri Governor Mike Parson tweeted that Dorn and George Floyd should not have died. He said the ensuing violence and criminal activity needs to stop.

The Ethical Society of the Police, an organization which supports black police officers in the United States, tweeted "(Dorn) was murdered by looters at a pawnshop. He was the type of brother that would've given his life to save them if he had to. Violence is not the answer, whether it's a citizen or officer. RIP Captain!"