On Tuesday, April 23, 1985 at about noon, Officer Dale Eggers of the Seattle Police Department was shot and killed during a robbery of the SeaFirst Bank, located at 2555 Beacon Avenue South on Beacon Hill.
The suspect, Ray Albert Lewis, a parolee and Navy veteran, entered the bank where he passed a note to a teller, demanding money. As Lewis left the bank, he pulled a .410 sawed-off shotgun from a briefcase and shot Officer Eggers in the head. Officer Eggers was transported to Harborview Medical Center where he died about 45 minutes later.
Officer Eggers was working off-duty security at the bank. He was on the phone and apparently unaware that there was a robbery in-progress before being shot.
Lewis was apprehended a couple of hours before Officer Eggers’ funeral. He was convicted of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 1972, Officer Eggers was one of five officers who were wounded by a sniper at the Bush Motel at 621 South Jackson Street.
In addition to maintaining the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial, Behind the Badge Foundation
delivers critical support to surviving family members after a line of duty death - from grief
resources
to financial support.