Philip Davis
Philip Davis (born January 1976 - died December 4, 2009) was a patrol officer in the Pelham Police Department.
Davis was a 1994 graduate of Tuscaloosa County High School. He earned his bachelor of arts in criminal justice and psychology at the University of Alabama in 2000 and in 2005 completed a master of science in criminal justice at Faulkner University.
Davis was a veteran of the UAB Police Department and the Calera Police Department. He joined the Pelham force in 2005. He also taught self-defense classes at Valley Christian Church and criminal justice classes at ITT Technical Institute in Bessemer.
Just before midnight on December 3, Davis pulled over pharmacist Bart Wayne Johnson for speeding on I-65 near the "tank farm" at mile marker 243. After a seemingly calm interview, Davis returned to his patrol car to write a ticket. When he returned, Johnson informed him that his brother was a police officer. Davis asked for his contact information so he could tell him what happened. Then Johnson pulled a handgun and shot Davis in the face. He was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was the first Pelham officer to die in the line of duty in the department's 45-year history.
Johnson fled the scene and was later observed attempting to break into a pick-up truck in Birmingham's Inglenook neighborhood. He waved a resident back into his house by flashing his gun. The resident later observed Johnson's brother, Bill, a Trussville police officer, pick him up in his truck. The two drove toward Pelham, apparently to surrender, but stopped when they saw a large group of Hoover Police cars near an I-65 interchange with U. S. Highway 31. They stopped and got out of the car with their hands in the air. Bart Johnson announced that he was the subject of their manhunt. Both brothers were taken into custody. Bart Johnson was later charged with capital murder and held without bond.
A Philip Davis Fund was created at America's First Credit Union to support his family.
References
- Robinson, Carol (December 5, 2009) "Pelham police officer's slaying baffles investigators." Birmingham News