It was Dominique "Dom" Calata's warm, crooked smile and boundless positive energy that drew people in.
It was his faith that gave him strength, his wisecracks and kindness that put others at ease and his dedication to service that ultimately led to him dying as a hero.
About 2,000 people gathered Friday at Church For All Nations in Tacoma to celebrate the life of Calata, a 35-year-old Pierce County sheriff's deputy who died March 16 after being fatally shot by a felon while serving a warrant in Spanaway with his SWAT team.
Sheriff's Sgt. Rich Scaniffe, a SWAT commander also shot in the incident, received a standing ovation as he walked to the podium to tell others about Calata's infectious personality, leadership skills and sense of humor that bonded together his team.
Scaniffe was released from the hospital last week after undergoing surgery for his gunshot wound.
"When this gun battle started, I knew I was in grave danger. Dom rushed to my side to fight shoulder to shoulder. He was determined, he was heroic and he was brave," Scaniffe said. "I would give anything to have Dom here today. I am heartbroken and I am sorry. I wish more than anything Dom was still here laughing."
He was there, in spirit.
Friends, family and co-workers told numerous stories about Calata during the 2-hour ceremony. How he slept on his sister's floor when they were kids to protect her from imaginary monsters so she could sleep. How he almost lost his nursing scholarship to Pacific Lutheran University but fought for a different scholarship because he wanted to join the U.S. Army. How he was the only one excited during a military training in the rain but rallied the troops with encouraging words.
"Saying Dom was great is a massive understatement," said his sister, Christina Calata-Curtis. "His childhood dream was to be a part of something greater than himself. He became the hero that he was created to be."
Calata joined the Sheriff's Department in 2015 and within three years was placed on the SWAT team and U.S. Marshal's Violent Offender Task Force.
He began his career of service after completing the U.S. Army ROTC program in 2008. He was first stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and deployed twice to Iraq. Calata and his wife, Erin Calata, returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2012 when he became a captain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He served as a battalion intelligence officer in the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
After Calata left the Army and became a deputy, he joined the Washington Army National Guard and deployed once more to Afghanistan in 2019. He was most recently commander of the Washington Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School.
Col. Raed Geykis, who knew Calata since he was in ROTC, remembered him as somebody who could always make the impossible possible, who pushed himself and others to be better, who always offered a smile and a kind word.
"All Dom really wanted to do at the end of the day was to help others, to serve others and to be the very best at it. This was Dom's superpower," Geykis said. "This world would be a better place if we could all live little more like Dom."
Sheriff Ed Troyer said Calata had a huge heart, worked hard and was a role model to everybody who knew him.
"Dom checked all the boxes and accomplished so much more. He was a person and a deputy everybody looked up to," Troyer said.
The deputy's celebration of life started with a procession of 575 emergency vehicles that went from the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup to the church. People lined the route, holding American flags and signs of appreciation for Calata's service and sacrifice. An officer led a riderless horse and white-gloved sheriff's deputies walked alongside the hearse carrying Calata's body.
Denise Gallion, from Tacoma, stood along the route to show her support and pay her respects.
"I came out here today because I think it's really important for the community to show our love and appreciation and respect for any officer, and especially one who's given the ultimate sacrifice," she said.
About 100 or so people who could not fit into Church For All Nations watched the ceremony from Champions Centre.
Rev. John Asher, who was Calata's pastor at Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church, acknowledged that everybody came for a different reason. Some worshiped with Calata, some served alongside him in the military or on Pierce County streets, and some came out of respect.
"We all knew him in one common way — he had a generous spirit," Asher said. "Dom was not giving in just one area of his life, but in many ways."
Calata's myriad of interests were on display on tables set up behind the flag-draped casket.
There was a snowboard, books he read to his 4-year-old son Dylan, a PLU pennant, guitar, hiking boots, worn baseball cap from Crystal Mountain and framed photos of him with his family and Army battalion. One showed him standing in nature holding an American flag with a thin blue line.
During a video of Calata's life projected onto a large screen, people watched him posing with family, playing the guitar, graduating college, riding a bike, paddle boarding, wearing Army fatigues in the field, getting married, hanging with friends, helping his son place a star on the Christmas tree and parachuting in front of Mount Rainier.
In most of them, Calata was making silly faces.
Scaniffe attached a ninth golden streamer to a Pierce County flag held by the Honor Guard to honor Calata and other deputies killed in the line of duty. Buglers played taps. An honor guard ceremoniously folded the flag draped over Calata's casket, and Troyer presented it to Erin Calata. There was the traditional last call where a radio dispatcher called Calata's number over the air.
"Pierce County #440 out of service. Gone but will never be forgotten."
His casket was carried out of the church by the pallbearers, one of whom was his father. Calata's sister and Scaniffe walked behind, each with one hand on the casket.
Scaniffe talked about the difficulties faced by the SWAT team and a phrase he and Calata used to chuckle about.
"Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes we have to push through. Sometimes we have to endure hardship," he said. "For Dom: (expletive) it. Let's roll."
