Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Davis was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer in a case of mistaken identity at the intersection of Wilkins Street and Dequindre Street. Officer Davis and his partner were notified of a vehicle that fled the scene of a hit-and-run near the intersection of Gratiot Avenue and Mack Avenue. Officer Davis and his partner saw the wanted vehicle and commandeered a vehicle in pursuit of them. Both officers ordered the driver of the commandeered vehicle to stop when they lost the wanted vehicle as it drove past railroad gates as they were being lowered for an oncoming train. A police vehicle was following close behind them and mistook the commandeered vehicle as the getaway vehicle. An officer in the police vehicle shot at Officer Davis and his partner as they stepped off the running boards of the commandeered vehicle thinking they were attempting to escape, striking officer Davis in the stomach. Officer Davis was taken to Receiving Hospital where he died from his wound an hour later. Officer Davis had served with the Detroit Police Department for less than 2 years and was assigned to the Hunt Street Station.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-A293DF1C- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
You barely got started.
Police Officer Davis gave the Detroit Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Davis.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Gordon R. Davis is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Detroit Police Department, 58 of 250 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Gordon R. Davis's cause is highlighted.
How Gordon R. Davis Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Gordon R. Davis is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
249 officers from Detroit Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
