End of Watch: 04/23/1985
Agency: Seattle Police Department
County: King County
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.
Officer Dale Eggers is survived by his daughter.