Live updates: Service for deputy Dom Calata ends with last radio call, playing of Taps

Today, Pierce County will say goodbye to fallen sheriff’s deputy Dominique “Dom” Calata.

A procession of scores of law enforcement and emergency vehicles is expected to leave the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup about 11 a.m. and escort Calata’s remains to the Church For All Nations near Parkland.

A celebration of life will be held at the church. The celebration is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and is open to the public but with very limited seating at the Church For All Nations. The general public is encouraged to watch the service from a satellite location at Champions Centre, 1819 E. 72nd St. in Tacoma.

Calata was mortally wounded March 15 during a SWAT team operation to serve an arrest warrant on a convicted felon. He died the next day.

The News Tribune will provide updated coverage from the procession and the celebration of life here.

Last radio call for Calata

3:03 p.m.: An emergency dispatcher called Calata’s badge number, 440, over the air.

Hearing no answer, she broadcast: “440 out of service. Gone but will never be forgotten.”

Taps then was played, the honor guard left the auditorium and pall bearers removed Calata’s casket from the church as his law enforcement and military comrades saluted.

The service is ending

2:47 p.m.: Bagpipers and drummers are playing “Amazing Grace.” Six of Calata’s colleagues have folded the flag that had been atop his casket, and Sheriff Ed Troyer presented it to Calata’s family.

Deputy Calata’s sister eulogizes her brother

2:31 p.m.: Christina Calata-Curtis thanks those he served with her brother for helping him to live his best life.

“Let’s celebrate his life and honor him by loving the way Dom loved,” she said.

Friends, co-workers, minister speak of Calata’s life

2:09 p.m.: Friends, co-workers and Calata’s minister describe his upbeat, positive attitude, enduring spirit and “crooked little smile.”

“All Dom really wanted to do at the end of the day was to help others. This was Dom’s superpower,” said Col. Raed Gyekis of 225th Air Defense Group, who served with Calata in the military. “I know this world would be a better place if we could all live just a little more like Dom.”

Memorial service begins with remarks from sheriff, colleague

1:09 p.m.: Calata’s flag-draped casket was positioned at the front of the church, and flower arrangements and a large portrait of his family flanked it.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Rich Scaniffe, who was released from the hospital March 18 after being injured along with Calata, added a streamer to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department flag to honor Calata’s death in the line of duty.

Sheriff Ed Troyer delivered remarks, pointing out Calata’s pride in being a law enforcement officer, National Guard member, husband and father to his 4-year-old son.

“Dom checked all the boxes and accomplished so much more,” Troyer said. “You’ll be a role model for us and our department for years to come.”

Scaniffe also spoke.

“He died just as he lived, with great determination and great heroism,” said Scaniffe, who was Calata’s commander on the SWAT team.

The remains of deputy Calata have arrived at the church

11:44 a.m.: The hearse carrying deputy Dom Calata’s body has arrived at the Church for All Nations.

Ranks of law enforcement officers in dress uniform are saluting the hearse and lining the walkway to the entrance.

Pall bearers have removed Calata’s flag-draped casket and are carrying it inside.

Procession leaves fairgrounds, heads toward Church For All Nations

11:29 a.m.: The procession is underway.

Video from KIRO-TV shows the route lined with people, many holding American flags and others with signs, including “I back the blue.”

Vehicles in the procession have their emergency lights flashing. An officer is leading a riderless horse, and white-gloved sheriff’s deputies are walking alongside the hearse carrying Calata’s body.

Law enforcement and fire agencies from Pierce County and the Puget Sound region are well represented, including Renton, Kitsap County, King County, Oak Harbor, Benton County, Lake Stevens and the U.S. Park Service.

Memorial procession for fallen Pierce County deputy taking shape

10:55 .a.m.: Scores of law enforcement and emergency vehicles are forming up at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup this morning. They will escort the remains of Pierce County sheriff’s deputy Dom Calata to the Church For All Nations in Parkland, where a celebration of life will take place.

The route of the procession and some streets along it will be closed for some time.

Colleagues preparing this morning for deputy Calata’s memorial

10:10 a.m.: Sheriff’s deputies and other taking part in the celebration of life for fallen sheriff’s deputy Dom Calata are rehearsing this morning at the Church For All Nations in Parkland.

Bagpipers, a color guard and others are going through their paces to be ready for the formal celebration, which is expected to begin about 1 p.m.

Five days before he died, deputy Calata was helping kids in Edgewood

Deputy Dom Calata has a special place in the hearts of the staff and students at Mountain View Elementary in Edgewood, where he visited shortly before his death.

Calata was at Mountain View for an assembly kicking off the school’s annual “March Gladness” service project. This year, Mountain View decided to collect teddy bears and blankets for the small city’s police department to distribute to children while responding to 911 calls that can often be scary and traumatic.

What no one knew was that Calata’s time was short, or that one of the teddy bears they collected would end up in the arms of his young son.

Five days later, the 35-year-old husband, father and SWAT team member died from gunshot wounds sustained while serving a warrant on a convicted felon in Spanaway.

Read more about Calata’s visit to and legacy at Mountain View in today’s News Tribune editorial.

This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.