Ann Dorn, the wife of slain former St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, called on governors and mayors to accept federal help in putting down violent riots after recounting the painful night that her husband was killed.
Ann spoke at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, the fourth and final night of the proceedings. Her husband, a 44-year veteran of law enforcement, died on June 2 while defending a friend’s pawnshop from rioters who were defacing and destroying property and looting businesses across the city. The riots broke out following protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
Ann recounted that David, a “friend to thousands,” once befriended a young man named Lee. The two bonded, and when Lee decided to start his own business and open a pawn shop, he asked David to help with security. David became the de facto man in charge of checking out the shop any time the alarm bell went off.
“Most of the time they were false alarms triggered by a storm or animals, but I never rested easily until I heard Dave’s key turn in the door knowing he was home safe,” Ann said.
“The alarm that went off the morning of June 2 was for real,” she continued, her voice cracking slightly as she began to recount her husband’s final moments.
She continued:
It was a violent night in St. Louis. Four officers were shot, others were hit with rocks and fireworks. At least five businesses were damaged, looted, or set on fire. As the Officer Wellness coordinator and CIT coordinator with the police department, I was keenly aware of the rioting, and I spent the evening getting ready to mobilize support for officers who were impacted.
After I had gone to bed, David received a call from Lee’s alarm company. The front door of the pawn shop had been breached. This time, he didn’t wake me up to tell me. He probably knew I would have tried to stop him, or insist on going with him. As I slept, looters were ransacking the shop. They shot and killed David in cold blood, and then live-streamed his execution and his last moments on Earth. David’s grandson was watching the video on Facebook in real time, not realizing he was watching his own grandfather dying on the sidewalk.
I learned of all this around 4 a.m. when our doorbell rang. The chief of police was standing outside. I wondered why Dave had not answered the door. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be up watching TV at this time. I called out to him several times; there was no reply. He just wasn’t there. I let in the chief, and fighting back tears, he uttered the words every officer’s spouse dreads.
Ann said that she hoped David’s story would help end the rioting, looting, and destruction that has surged in the biggest cities across the United States following Floyd’s death amid the coronavirus pandemic.
I relive that horror in my mind every single day. My hope is that having you relive it with me now will help shake this country from this nightmare we are witnessing in our cities, and bring about positive, peaceful change. How did we get to this point where so many young people are callous and indifferent towards human life? This isn’t a video game where you can commit mayhem and then just hit reset and bring all the characters back to life. David is never, never coming back to me. He was murdered by people who didn’t know and just didn’t care he would have done anything to help them.
Ann pleaded with local elected officials to accept aid from the federal government to “help restore order in our communities.”
“In a time when police departments are short on resources and manpower, we need that help. We should accept that help,” Ann said. “We must heal before we can affect change, but we cannot heal amid devastation and chaos. President Trump knows we need more Davids in our communities, not fewer. We need to come together in peace and remember that every life is precious.”
The St. Louis Police Department arrested Stephan Cannon on June 7 and charged him with murdering David Dorn. Cannon faces one charge of first degree murder and another of burglary.