Padres player-turned-cop wounded in 2003 shooting dies at 53
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Dan Walters, a former San Diego Padres catcher-turned-police officer who was paralyzed in a 2003 shooting, died Thursday, the police union said. He was 53.
His death was announced by the San Diego Police Officers Association, which didn't provide the cause of his death or other details.
Walters was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1984, played in the minor leagues for five seasons, then played for the San Diego Padres in the 1992 and 1993 seasons before a spinal injury ended his career. In 84 career games, he had 64 hits in 273 at-bats, with a .234 batting average.
Walters became a San Diego policeman in 1998. In 2003, he was shot in the neck and then struck by a passing car during a confrontation with a domestic violence suspect who had opened fire on another officer. The gunman was shot and killed by his partner.
'œI heard a bang, and I'm falling to the ground, looking up at this guy, thinking, '~Oh, God! I can't believe it: I'm dead,' 'ť Walters told a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2013.
Walters was paralyzed from the neck down except for some movement in his left hand.
'œI certainly don't regret being at the scene that night,'ť he said. 'œPerhaps people were saved because I happened to be there.'ť
Walters wasn't married and had no children.
The San Diego Police Department said it had lost 'œanother hero who made the ultimate sacrifice."
The Padres are 'œdeeply saddened'ť to hear of Walters' death, the team tweeted.