Off-duty Norfolk police officer shot to death www.privateofficer.com

Norfolk VA Oct 29 2010 Norfolk police are now assisting Virginia Beach detectives investigating the shooting death of off-duty Norfolk Officer Victor Decker, whose body was found Tuesday morning off Oceana Boulevard.

Norfolk is providing assistance and investigating specific questions at the request of Virginia Beach, Norfolk police Lt. Joseph Baron said at a news conference Thursday with Chief Bruce P. Marquis.

Marquis said Beach detectives have recovered a piece of evidence, and it may be Decker’s wallet. The chief said his understanding is that Decker’s service pistol was in his home when he was killed. Marquis had said Wednesday that personal items were taken from Decker.

A motorist found Decker about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday when he stopped to check a pickup in the 400 block of Oceana Blvd., near a go-go club called Atlantis. Two people who were at Atlantis on Monday night said they saw Decker there, but that nothing seemed amiss. The motorist found Decker lying on the side of the road near the truck.

Baron, who is supervising Norfolk’s end of the investigation, said no other Norfolk police officers were there with Decker.

Beach police are leaving no stone unturned, Marquis and Baron said.

“They’re receiving a lot of phone calls with information,” Marquis said.

“They are hot and heavy on this investigation and their investigators are working diligently to track down every single lead,” Baron said. “We are currently helping them in reference to specific information that they would like us to research our database, to see if we can come up with anything.”

One aspect of the investigation involves a March 2009 shooting in downtown Norfolk that Decker was involved in. When he heard gunfire while patrolling on his bicycle, he responded and came upon a robbery and shooting that had just happened. Decker shot and killed one suspect, Marlon D. Sanders, 19, after Sanders fired his gun at Decker. The second suspect, Brighton Evlon Alderman, 18, surrendered to Decker.

Alderman is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 13 on a charge of first-degree murder and attempted robbery in the death of the victim, Brian Carter, 24, of Suffolk.

Decker, a beloved officer known for developing friendships with business owners and downtown workers, was given commendations for his response.

Virginia Beach detectives asked Norfolk for their file on the robbery and shooting. Norfolk police, however, said it is one of many aspects being investigated as police “leave no stone unturned.” Beach police said Thursday that they had no new information to report to the public.

Also Thursday, Decker’s widow, Dawn Decker, met with reporters, saying she wanted to ask that anyone with information report it to authorities. She was in Georgia visiting family when her husband was killed.

She said she and her husband went to middle school and high school together, when they were friends, and had been married for about a year and a half.

“If Victor saw somebody that he thought needed to handle, he would have stepped in,” she said. “He was the type of person that if someone had a flat tire, he would pull over and help them. … All he did was try to help as much as he could.”

She said Decker planned to work for Norfolk police “as long as he possibly could.”

They have an 8-month-old baby girl named Charlotte. Their daughter’s birth, she said, was “a very precious experience. One we hoped to repeat.”

Decker’s funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Rock Church on Kempsville Road in Virginia Beach.

Police ask that anyone with information on the shooting call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP
Source:Pilotonline