Detective Michael Davis Jr. was shot and killed while taking part in a massive manhunt for the murderer of Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Danny Oliver. The subject who murdered Deputy Oliver, assisted by a female accomplice, carjacked a vehicle and fled up I-80. They exited the highway in Auburn before stopping on the side of the road off Maidu Drive. 

On October 24th, 2014, a resident of the City of Auburn called the Sheriff’s Office after seeing a suspicious vehicle, occupied by a man and woman, in a residential neighborhood in the southern part of the city. Numerous Placer County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the location.

Detective Michael Davis Jr. arrived in the area with his partner. As Detective Davis and other deputies exited their vehicles, the suspect opened fire on them with an AR-15 rifle. Detective Davis was immediately shot along with another responding deputy.

Both deputies were transported to a local hospital, where Detective Davis succumbed to his injuries. 

The female subject was arrested at the scene while the male fled into a residential area. He was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s Office tactical team later that day. In 2018, the subject, who was a convicted narcotics dealer and had been deported twice, was sentenced to death. His female accomplice was sentenced to 49 years to life in prison.

Detective Davis had served with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office for 15 years. He is survived by his wife and four children. Detective Davis’ father, Investigator Michael Davis Sr., was killed in the line of duty on October 24th, 1988, while serving with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Their line of duty deaths occurred exactly 26 years apart to the day.