The only memories that Christopher Davis has of his father, Ernie, are watching sports while sitting on his lap and playing a game of wiffle ball in which his dad's leg was broken.
The rest had to be pieced together from his family because on July 16, 1980, Ernie Davis, a Philadelphia police officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty. Christopher was only 5 years old.
"It was tough, I mean I grew up without a father," Christopher Davis said yesterday after a plaque was dedicated at the site of his father's death.
Ernie Davis, 33, a five-year veteran, was interviewing a victim whose car had been stolen when he got a radio call of a man with a gun.
Davis saw a man who fit the description and approached him on Broad Street near Erie Avenue, in North Philadelphia, and was shot. He died soon after at Temple University Hospital.
"As a family we spent most of our holidays and special occasions together but it's the everyday time and activities that I remember and cherish the most," said Megan Eroh, Ernie Davis' niece, who was 8 at the time of her uncle's death.
"It was the big spaghetti dinners on Sunday, how he would sit me on his lap when he watched the Eagles and vacations to the Jersey Shore," Eroh said. "It's his infectious smile and his hearty laugh that we all miss."
The Hero Plaque Program is a joint effort of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and attorney James Binns. Anyone interested in sponsoring a plaque should contact Binns at 215-275-3000. *
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