CLARKSVILLE, TN – The Clarksville Police Department remembers Field Training Officer Dave Scott and Officer Yamil Baez-Santiago on the 20th anniversary of their passing.
June 7, 2002, started like every other day as officers with the Clarksville Police Department reported for duty and started their shift patrolling the streets of Clarksville.
Dave was a Field Training Officer and Yamil was a rookie officer in his first phase of training, having just graduated from the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy (TLETA).
When the call came out regarding an aggravated robbery, they responded and eventually located the suspect, and pursued the vehicle. The pursuit went from Fort Campbell Boulevard onto the 101st Airborne Division Parkway. Their patrol car collided with another vehicle, causing the car to burst into flames and both officers were trapped inside. The suspect was arrested in Memphis the following day. In 2014, he was eventually found guilty of four counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of reckless vehicular homicide and sentenced to 33 years in prison.
Ten years ago, on June 7, 2012, a segment of State Route 374, from mile marker 11 to the Fort Campbell Boulevard exit was designated as the “Officers David Scott and Yamil Baez-Santiago Memorial Parkway.”
Tennessee Public Chapter 533, enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly named this section of State Route 374 (101st Airborne Division Parkway) to commemorate their sacrifice.
Both Dave Scott and Yamil Baez-Santiago are on the Officer Down Memorial Page.