In the late hours of a Tuesday in Stanardsville, Virginia, a dedicated law enforcement officer's life was cut tragically short. Sergeant Rodney Lee Davis, a 30-year-old male serving with the Greene County Sheriff's Department, was killed in the line of duty on August 26, 2003. That evening, he and another deputy were attempting to serve a narcotics warrant on a man suspected of selling crack cocaine at a residence on Octonia Road.
Upon their arrival at approximately 11:00 p.m., the deputies were met by the suspect's mother, who claimed her son was not present. She granted them permission to search the house. Their search led them to a bedroom where they discovered the suspect hiding, initiating a struggle. The suspect managed to break away and barricade himself in another room. When the deputies forced the door open, they were met with gunfire. Sergeant Davis was struck in his side, in an area not protected by his ballistic vest.
The deputies returned fire, and the suspect was killed at the scene. Sergeant Davis was rushed to the University of Virginia Medical Center, but he succumbed to his wound. At the time of his death, Sergeant Davis had been with the Greene County Sheriff's Department for two and a half years. His career in law enforcement also included five years with the Newport News Sheriff's Department and three and a half years with the Middle Peninsula Regional Jail. He left behind a wife, who was expecting a child, and two other children. The death of Sergeant Davis marked the first line-of-duty death in the history of the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
