“He was a hell of a cop,” Monteverde said.

Monteverde saw Davison using the skills he had learned in the Marines in his new job as a police officer, but said he never bragged about his military service. He was struck by Davison’s humility, especially as Davison began to open up to Monteverde.

“He would talk to me about the challenges he had, the things he had seen over in the ‘sandbox,’” Monteverde said. “Things that were haunting him.”

Still, Monteverde said Davison was reluctant to reveal when he was having a hard time.

It became abundantly clear that Davison was struggling with PTSD in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 2006, when he got into a fight with two men while he was off duty in a downtown bar. Davison was charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct and put on administrative leave at the Police Department. He pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct. He later admitted he had been unable to turn off the switch in his brain that told him to fight during the confrontation.

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