Off-duty Norfolk officer found slain in Virginia Beach

When trouble started in downtown Norfolk, Victor Edward Decker was the one to call.

He was a Norfolk police officer who could be tough if needed, but he tried to help people first, said Dave Walker, a lieutenant with the Downtown Norfolk Council's public safety ambassadors.

Allie Stevenson, 21, said she met Decker last year while clubbing on Granby Street with friends. He asked them if they had a safe ride home or needed an escort to their cars, she said, and they'd been friends ever since.

At 25, he'd already earned high honors as an officer and was well-known downtown as Vic.

Now, police in Virginia Beach are investigating his homicide.

The body of the decorated officer was found by the side of the road Tuesday morning.

A motorist driving in the 400 block of Oceana Blvd. just before 7:15 a.m. spotted a pickup truck parked off the road and pulled over to help, said Officer Adam Bern-stein, a Beach police spokesman. The motorist discovered Decker lying next to the truck and called 911.

Police found that Decker had been shot, Bernstein said. He was declared dead at the scene, and an autopsy ruled his death a homicide.

He was married and had a baby. He lived in Virginia Beach.

Assisted by police dogs, officers scoured the crime scene for hours and on Tuesday evening were still working to unravel the circumstances and timing of Decker's death. His body was found about 100 yards from the Atlantis Gentlemen's Club, but it's unclear whether he'd been there, Bernstein said. He was off-duty, police said.

Decker had been an officer in Norfolk for four years.

He was tested the night of March 19, 2009, as he patrolled on his bicycle. He heard gunshots and pedaled to Plume Street, where he found two men fleeing the site of a robbery and shooting. He demanded that they stop and drop their weapons, but one refused. They ended up exchanging gunfire, resulting in Decker fatally shooting one of the men and arresting the other.

The Norfolk commonwealth's attorney ruled the shooting justified, and Decker's actions earned him a valor award from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. Decker also earned the Norfolk Police Department's Medal of Valor and the 2009 Governor's Medal of Valor Award, according to a news release from the Norfolk Police Department. Last year, he was Norfolk's Officer of the Year and the city's Top Cop.

"He was a great guy," Walker said. "He had a wonderful career ahead of him."

"His connection downtown, I think, went beyond his police patrolling," said Cathy Coleman, president and CEO of the Downtown Norfolk Council. "It really became a personal, almost family, relationship."

"He was a big presence down here on Granby Street," said attorney Peter G. Decker III, a friend of Decker's who is not related to him. "He could defuse tough situations and do the right thing."

He became a father about eight months ago and showed off his daughter's pictures whenever he got the chance, Stevenson said. "He was so proud of that little girl."

Memorial services are being planned, said Officer Chris Amos, a Norfolk police spokesman. In the meantime, law enforcement officers throughout the commonwealth will shroud their badges by covering them with black bands in memory of Decker, Erin G. Schrad, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, wrote in an e-mail.

"His family's in our thoughts and prayers," Amos said. "Like everyone else, we're shocked at what's taken place and, at this point, we have more questions than answers."

Decker's death remains under investigation by the Virginia Beach Police Department. Police ask that anyone who saw Decker or may have information on his death to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887).

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com