Former police officer ID'd as man shot to death outside Jefferson Twp. bar
Feb. 5—The man who died in a shooting last Monday outside a Jefferson Twp. bar has been identified as a former law enforcement officer.
Darnell Pate, 30, was pronounced dead Jan. 29 at Napoleon's Bar, at 4150 Germantown Pike, according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger.
Pate previously worked in law enforcement for multiple different departments in Southwest Ohio. A funeral service is scheduled for noon Saturday at Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church in Trotwood, according to his obituary.
Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies responded around 2:50 a.m. and found Pate dead in a vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound.
A sheriff's office spokesperson said Pate's death was "a targeted killing," and that detectives discovered a stolen car abandoned in the area that they believe was driven by the person or people who killed Pate.
Pate had been working as a security guard at Napoleon's Bar, according to the sheriff's office, and he was leaving because his shift was over.
A 911 caller told dispatchers he came outside and found his white Ford Expedition had been shot, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
About five minutes later, a man who identified himself as the owner of the bar called 911 and reported a person was sitting in a white truck or SUV with the lights on. He called back a few minutes later and said he didn't think the person was breathing.
When the dispatcher asked if he heard any gunfire, the caller said he wouldn't have heard any from inside the bar.
Pate and his young daughter garnered attention when he brought her to the funeral in November 2019 for slain Dayton police detective Jorge DelRio. Pate was a police officer for the city of Union at the time.
"She absolutely adores what I do and constantly tells people about it," Pate said more than four years ago. "I talked to her about the officer passing away and asked if she wanted to go with Daddy to say goodbye. What better way to show her what my blue family is like?"
A photograph of the girl, the top of her head barely reaching the duty belt worn by her father, was published in the Dayton Daily News and media outlets around the world following the funeral.
Pate served briefly as interim chief of the New Vienna police department in Clinton County, and also worked for police departments in Addyston, on the west edge of Cincinnati, and in New Holland, near Washington Court House. According to WXIX in Cincinnati, he was terminated from his roles with Addyston and New Vienna. According to WHIO, New Holland officials said Pate was a fine officer serving in a reserve role in 2022-23.
His LinkedIn account more recently listed him as working as an "armed public safety officer" with the Kapps LLC property management company.
