Memorial service for Pierce County deputy killed in on-duty crash to be held Monday
A memorial service will be held Monday for a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy who died in a crash while responding to a domestic violence call in Parkland.
The public is invited to the service for deputy Cooper Dyson, 25.
It will be held at 1 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.
There will be no public parking at the venue, so those attending are asked to find off-site parking.
People also are invited to show their support by lining the streets of the procession, which starts at 11 a.m. at the north gate of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It will head north on South Tacoma Way extension, north on South Tacoma Way, east on 26th Street and south on D Street.
Those streets will be closed during the procession, and traffic congestion in those areas is expected to last until 3 p.m.
Dyson joined the Sheriff’s Department last year after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard as a hazardous boat crew member.
He died Dec. 21 when he lost control of his patrol car on rain-slicked roads in the 1300 block of 112th Street East and struck a lumber materials business. The car rolled and caught fire 1-1/2 miles from the domestic violence call he was rushing to assist with.
Dyson was pronounced dead at the scene.
He is survived by his pregnant wife and 3-year-old son.
“He knew the dangers of what the job was, and so he kept a Bible in his patrol car with him at all times,” Dyson’s family said in a statement. “And before he started his shift, he opened his Bible and he prayed.”
Donations to help his family can be made at TAPCO Credit Union locations or through a Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers legacy fund.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 10:39 AM.
