Dominique Calata and eight fellow deputies were each awarded a Medal of Honor in Olympia. It's the state's highest honor for a member of law enforcement.
It was Dominique "Dom" Calata's warm, crooked smile and boundless positive energy that drew people in.
It was his faith that gave him strength, his wisecracks and kindness that put others at ease, and his dedication to service that ultimately led to him dying as a hero.
About 2,000 people gathered Friday at Church For All Nations in Tacoma to celebrate the life of Calata, a 35-year-old Pierce County sheriff's deputy who died March 16 after being fatally shot by a felon while serving a warrant in Spanaway with his SWAT team.
"Saying Dom was great is a massive understatement," said his sister, Christina Calata-Curtis. "His childhood dream was to be a part of something greater than himself. He became the hero that he was created to be."
Calata joined the Sheriff's Department in 2015 and within three years was placed on the SWAT team and U.S. Marshal's Violent Offender Task Force.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq.
Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School.
Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
"All Dom really wanted to do at the end of the day was to help others, to serve others, and to be the very best at it. This was Dom's superpower," Geykis said. "This world would be a better place if we could all live a little more like Dom."
Sheriff Ed Troyer said Calata had a huge heart, worked hard, and was a role model to everybody who knew him.
"Dom checked all the boxes and accomplished so much more. He was a person and a deputy everybody looked up to," Troyer said.
==
Deputy Sheriff Dominique Calata
Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Washington
End of Watch Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Deputy Sheriff Dom Calata succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day while members of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department SWAT Team attempted to serve an arrest warrant in the 19000 block of Pacific Avenue South in Spanaway.
The SWAT Team was assisting the South Sound Gang Task Force with serving the warrant. They were making entry into the suspect's mobile home when the man opened fire on them. Deputy Calata and a Sergeant were both shot and wounded before the subject was killed by return gunfire. Both deputies were transported to St. Joseph Medical Center where Deputy Calata succumbed to his wounds the following day.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq. Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School. Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
He is survived by his wife and 4-year-old child.
Sheriff Troyer said Deputy Calata will perform "one final selfless act" as an organ donor.
It was Dominique "Dom" Calata's warm, crooked smile and boundless positive energy that drew people in.
It was his faith that gave him strength, his wisecracks and kindness that put others at ease, and his dedication to service that ultimately led to him dying as a hero.
About 2,000 people gathered Friday at Church For All Nations in Tacoma to celebrate the life of Calata, a 35-year-old Pierce County sheriff's deputy who died March 16 after being fatally shot by a felon while serving a warrant in Spanaway with his SWAT team.
"Saying Dom was great is a massive understatement," said his sister, Christina Calata-Curtis. "His childhood dream was to be a part of something greater than himself. He became the hero that he was created to be."
Calata joined the Sheriff's Department in 2015 and within three years was placed on the SWAT team and U.S. Marshal's Violent Offender Task Force.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq.
Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School.
Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
"All Dom really wanted to do at the end of the day was to help others, to serve others, and to be the very best at it. This was Dom's superpower," Geykis said. "This world would be a better place if we could all live a little more like Dom."
Sheriff Ed Troyer said Calata had a huge heart, worked hard, and was a role model to everybody who knew him.
"Dom checked all the boxes and accomplished so much more. He was a person and a deputy everybody looked up to," Troyer said.
==
Deputy Sheriff Dominique Calata
Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Washington
End of Watch Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Deputy Sheriff Dom Calata succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day while members of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department SWAT Team attempted to serve an arrest warrant in the 19000 block of Pacific Avenue South in Spanaway.
The SWAT Team was assisting the South Sound Gang Task Force with serving the warrant. They were making entry into the suspect's mobile home when the man opened fire on them. Deputy Calata and a Sergeant were both shot and wounded before the subject was killed by return gunfire. Both deputies were transported to St. Joseph Medical Center where Deputy Calata succumbed to his wounds the following day.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq. Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School. Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
He is survived by his wife and 4-year-old child.
Sheriff Troyer said Deputy Calata will perform "one final selfless act" as an organ donor.
Dominique Calata and eight fellow deputies were each awarded a Medal of Honor in Olympia. It's the state's highest honor for a member of law enforcement.
It was Dominique "Dom" Calata's warm, crooked smile and boundless positive energy that drew people in.
It was his faith that gave him strength, his wisecracks and kindness that put others at ease, and his dedication to service that ultimately led to him dying as a hero.
About 2,000 people gathered Friday at Church For All Nations in Tacoma to celebrate the life of Calata, a 35-year-old Pierce County sheriff's deputy who died March 16 after being fatally shot by a felon while serving a warrant in Spanaway with his SWAT team.
"Saying Dom was great is a massive understatement," said his sister, Christina Calata-Curtis. "His childhood dream was to be a part of something greater than himself. He became the hero that he was created to be."
Calata joined the Sheriff's Department in 2015 and within three years was placed on the SWAT team and U.S. Marshal's Violent Offender Task Force.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq.
Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School.
Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
"All Dom really wanted to do at the end of the day was to help others, to serve others, and to be the very best at it. This was Dom's superpower," Geykis said. "This world would be a better place if we could all live a little more like Dom."
Sheriff Ed Troyer said Calata had a huge heart, worked hard, and was a role model to everybody who knew him.
"Dom checked all the boxes and accomplished so much more. He was a person and a deputy everybody looked up to," Troyer said.
==
Deputy Sheriff Dominique Calata
Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Washington
End of Watch Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Deputy Sheriff Dom Calata succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day while members of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department SWAT Team attempted to serve an arrest warrant in the 19000 block of Pacific Avenue South in Spanaway.
The SWAT Team was assisting the South Sound Gang Task Force with serving the warrant. They were making entry into the suspect's mobile home when the man opened fire on them. Deputy Calata and a Sergeant were both shot and wounded before the subject was killed by return gunfire. Both deputies were transported to St. Joseph Medical Center where Deputy Calata succumbed to his wounds the following day.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq. Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School. Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
He is survived by his wife and 4-year-old child.
Sheriff Troyer said Deputy Calata will perform "one final selfless act" as an organ donor.
It was Dominique "Dom" Calata's warm, crooked smile and boundless positive energy that drew people in.
It was his faith that gave him strength, his wisecracks and kindness that put others at ease, and his dedication to service that ultimately led to him dying as a hero.
About 2,000 people gathered Friday at Church For All Nations in Tacoma to celebrate the life of Calata, a 35-year-old Pierce County sheriff's deputy who died March 16 after being fatally shot by a felon while serving a warrant in Spanaway with his SWAT team.
"Saying Dom was great is a massive understatement," said his sister, Christina Calata-Curtis. "His childhood dream was to be a part of something greater than himself. He became the hero that he was created to be."
Calata joined the Sheriff's Department in 2015 and within three years was placed on the SWAT team and U.S. Marshal's Violent Offender Task Force.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq.
Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School.
Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
"All Dom really wanted to do at the end of the day was to help others, to serve others, and to be the very best at it. This was Dom's superpower," Geykis said. "This world would be a better place if we could all live a little more like Dom."
Sheriff Ed Troyer said Calata had a huge heart, worked hard, and was a role model to everybody who knew him.
"Dom checked all the boxes and accomplished so much more. He was a person and a deputy everybody looked up to," Troyer said.
==
Deputy Sheriff Dominique Calata
Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Washington
End of Watch Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Deputy Sheriff Dom Calata succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day while members of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department SWAT Team attempted to serve an arrest warrant in the 19000 block of Pacific Avenue South in Spanaway.
The SWAT Team was assisting the South Sound Gang Task Force with serving the warrant. They were making entry into the suspect's mobile home when the man opened fire on them. Deputy Calata and a Sergeant were both shot and wounded before the subject was killed by return gunfire. Both deputies were transported to St. Joseph Medical Center where Deputy Calata succumbed to his wounds the following day.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq. Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School. Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
He is survived by his wife and 4-year-old child.
Sheriff Troyer said Deputy Calata will perform "one final selfless act" as an organ donor.
