CLARKSVILLE, TENN. - David J. Scott, 42, died Friday, June 7, 2002 in an automobile accident while on duty as a police officer in Clarksville.
He was born in Gardiner, a son of John and Helen Malia Scott. He was a graduate of Edward Little High School and went on to attend Norwich University, Northfield, Vt. Mr. Scott entered the U. S. Army in 1980. He joined the1st Ranger Battalion, then transferred to Special Forces at Ft. Bragg. He later transferred to Ft. Campbell, Ky. with the 5th Special Force Group A Co. He attended sniper school and was a demolition specialist during the Gulf War. He retired in 1995 as a sergeant 1st class. Mr. Scott joined the Clarksville Police Department in December 1995. One year prior to joining the police department, he worked as a reserve deputy in the Montgomery County, Tenn. Sheriff's Department.
Survivors include his wife, Trina Alethea Dilworth Scott, and four daughters, Kristine, Leyla, Deidre and Alethea, all of Woodlawn, Tenn.; his parents, of Scarborough; three sisters, Susan Parra of Memphis, Tenn., Elizabeth Dreisbach of St. Augustine, Fla., and Kathleen Megna of North Hampton, N.H.; ten nephews and seven nieces.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 15th, at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, Scarborough. Burial will be in Whitefield Cemetery, Whitefield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Chapter 38 SFA, C/O David Scott, P. 0. Box 223, Ft. Campbell, Ky. 42223. Local arrangements by the Conroy-Tully Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland. David J. Scott
Press Herald Staff Reporter, June 15, 2002
A funeral service will be held in Scarborough this morning for a police officer from Maine who was killed along with a fellow officer during their pursuit of an armed robbery suspect in Tennessee.
David Scott, 42, was born in Gardiner and grew up in Waterville and Auburn. His parents, John and Helen Scott, have since moved to Scarborough. He leaves a wife and four daughters.
Scott and a police rookie he was mentoring, Yamil Baez-Santiago, 23, were in one of two police cruisers that were involved in a high-speed chase of an armed robbery suspect in Clarksville, Tenn. on the night of June 7.
As the suspect evaded another car, Scott, who was driving, collided with an oncoming pickup truck. The truck struck the cruiser's gasoline tank, which exploded into flames.
Officers in the second cruiser were unable to pull Scott or Baez-Santiago from their car.
"The officers couldn't get him out, it was too hot," his mother said Friday, after returning the night before from Tennessee. "That's the part I don't think about too much."
She said her son loved his work, "serving people, helping."
Scott was one of about 20 field training officers in the department. He would serve as a mentor to newly hired officers, such as Baez-Santiago.
"(In field training officers) we're looking for someone who has that special charisma about him, who's going to take that young recruit and strengthen and mold them," said Lt. Geno Grubbs, the department's spokesman.
"It takes a special person to be an FTO," he said. "You're out there doing police work and answering calls to service, yet you're still trying to be a teacher and mentor."
The Clarksville department was devastated by the deaths, Grubbs said, the first deaths in the line of duty since 1983. The community, too, was hit hard.
Police officers from around the state attended the services for Scott and the other officer. A young girl who was diagnosed two years ago with leukemia created a community-wide condolence card from a 3-foot by 4-foot posterboard. Scott was the first police officer to offer blood and bone marrow when she was diagnosed.
"We were awestruck," Tom Dreisbach, a brother-in-law, said of the service. He said the family was silent for at least 10 minutes during the funeral procession as they saw the great respect people in the community have for the officers and the department. "People pulled over and stopped and put their hands over their hearts."
Dreisbach said Scott was always "the little brother" to his three sisters, and he had often thought of him that way. He was impressed to learn what a leader in the community he was in Clarksville, and to see the respect people there had for him.
In addition to being a training officer, he was a member of the department's tactical team.
He had won numerous accolades from the Army. Scott served in the Army as a member of a Special Forces unit and also as a ranger. He retired as a sergeant, first class, and became a police officer in 1995.
His parents and siblings returned from Tennessee Thursday night, in time to face another round of grieving in Maine. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. today at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Scarborough. Among the speakers will be his sisters, Kathleen Megna of North Hampton, N.H., Elizabeth Dreisbach of St. Augustine, Fla., and Susan Parra of Memphis.
His 16-year-old daughter Kristina, who spoke movingly about her relationship with her dad at the Clarksville service, will also speak today.
Survivors include his wife, Trina; four daughters,
Kristina, Althea, Deirdre and Leyla; his parents; and his three
sisters.