Funeral Procession Fallen Pierce Deputy To Be Held Friday

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — The Pierce County Sheriff's Department has announced the procession route they will use as they take Deputy Dom Calata to his final resting place.

Calata, 35, was shot during a SWAT operation in south Spanaway Tuesday, in which a suspect opened fire on SWAT team members. The suspect was killed, and Calata received serious injuries. The deputy was taken to a Tacoma hospital for emergency treatment, but died the following day.

Calata had been with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for six and a half years, and was most recently assigned to patrol with the Edgewood Police Department. Before that, he served in the National Guard for seven years, and spent five years in the U.S. Army. He leaves behind a wife and young son.

To recognize Calata's life and his death in the line of duty, a Celebration of Life ceremony will be held this Friday at 1 p.m. in the Church for all Nations at 111 112th St E, Tacoma.

Before the ceremony, a procession will run from the Washington State Fairgrounds to the Church, following the route shown below along 112th St E.

The procession is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. and will run roughly two hours. Commuters who pass through the area are asked to consider alternate routes or prepare for delays. 112th Street E will also be closed from 7th Avenue E to Pacific Avenue S from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The public is invited out to view the procession and show their support for Calata and his family. The following service at the Church of All Nations is also open to the public, but because space is limited, organizers say priority seating will be reserved for family, friends and first responders. Once seats fill up, well-wishers will be encouraged to visit a satellite location, Champions Centre at 1819 E 72nd St, Tacoma.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department has also established a fundraiser to support Calata's family.

Another deputy, Sergeant Rich Scaniffe, was injured in the shooting that took Calata's life. After a round of surgery and several days in the treatment, Scaniffe was released from the hospital on Friday.

Little else about the shooting that killed Calata and injured Scaniffe has been released. It remains under the jurisdiction of the Pierce County Force Investigation Team (PCFIT), who will continue to investigate the incident, a standard response for any situation in which police use deadly force inside the county.