Police Officer Dan Walters

DAN WALTERS

Police Officer Dan Walters succumbed to complications of a gunshot wound sustained on November 12, 2003.

He and his partner were backing up another officer on 43rd Street near Gamma Street after the officer stopped to investigate a vehicle parked in the travel lanes with a subject standing nearby. The man immediately pointed a gun at the officer, causing him to seek cover. Officer Walters and his partner immediately confronted the man, who attacked Officer Walters. The man placed his .357 handgun against Officer Walters’ neck and shot him, causing him to fall into the roadway. The man was then shot and killed by Officer Walters’ partner.

A passing vehicle inadvertently struck Officer Walters, causing additional injuries. He was transported to a local hospital where it was determined that he had become paralyzed from the neck down.

It was later determined that the man who shot Officer Walters was involved in a violent domestic incident when the first officer encountered him.

Officer Walters remained paralyzed and died from complications from the original injuries on April 23, 2020.

Officer Walters had served with the San Diego Police Department for five years at the time he was shot.

Before serving with the San Diego Police Department, Officer Walters was drafted by the Houston Astros and then played two seasons of Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres.