Widow: Retired police captain died protecting friend’s store

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A retired police captain who died during a night of violent protests was trying to protect his friend’s pawn shop, his widow said.

David Dorn’s last moments were caught on video and apparently posted on Facebook Live, though the video has since been taken down. He was killed by people who had broken into Lee’s Pawn & Jewelry, and his body found on the sidewalk at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. No arrests have been made.

His death came on a violent night in St. Louis, where four officers were shot, officers were pelted with rocks and fireworks, and 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged, including a convenience store that burned. Police also shot and gravely injured a burglary suspect who they say shot at officers.

Cities across the U.S. have seen protests and violence since George Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes even after the handcuffed black man stopped moving and pleading for air.

Dorn was a friend of the pawn shop’s owner and frequently checked on the business when alarms went off, his wife, St. Louis police Sgt. Ann Marie Dorn, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.