GREENVILLE, Texas — Tony's Italian Kitchen in Greenville is a hot spot for regulars, especially for those in uniform. For Greenville Police Officer Cooper Dawson , it was where he could enjoy a plate of spaghetti, meat sauce and sausage during his dinner break. He always ordered a water with lemon too.
Dawson was a familiar face to the employees at Tony's, visiting two to three times a week with his fellow officers. “He was probably just here a few days ago, sitting right over there,” manager Kristen O’Brien said. “I just waited on him.
” O'Brien said she never expected it to be her last time serving him his usual meal. On Monday night, 27-year-old Dawson was shot to death during a foot pursuit. Despite his injury, Dawson returned fire, leaving the suspect in critical condition.
Dawson later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. “It's devastating. Very devastating,” O’Brien said.
“It’s going to be weird when officers come in without him. It’s going to be tough.” Dawson’s death has sent shockwaves through the community.
His death is the first line-of-duty death in Greenville in more than a century. He was a husband, a father of three, a military veteran and a former Garland Police officer. Dawson had a decorated police career.
“Usually every evening he was in here, he’d FaceTime his wife and kids,” O'Brien said. “I’d hear him talking to his family while he's working before they go to bed.” "Very nice guy.
He always comes and eats," s.
