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It began in 1970 with the Los Angeles Police Department, where Haller worked with the storied Rampart Division as a beat cop downtown.
There was “lots of action, and I like action; I always have,” he said.
Haller retired Tuesday as one of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office’s major-crimes detectives. After a ceremony in the Sheriff’s Office in which he was honored by co-workers past and present, he said he is ready to begin a new chapter in his career. He will be a private investigator, also working part time as an investigator for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Haller has mentored countless detectives and deputies in Thurston County, including Deputy Steve Hamilton, who said Haller has no peers as an investigator.
“Dave’s the kind of guy that if you give an assignment, no matter what it is, no matter how complex it is, he’s going to go to every length, every corner of the planet to get it solved,” Hamilton said. “Dave’s a jack of all trades and a master of them all in law enforcement.”
CRACKING A CASE
Colleagues say Haller worked so many cases, it is difficult to single out his work in any one in particular for praise. But one that stands out was a murder that went unsolved for about 28 years: the 1973 homicide of 15-year-old Kathy Devine, a runaway who was found dead in Margaret McKenny Park in Capitol State Forest.
For years, it was speculated that serial killer Ted Bundy might have killed the girl. But in 2001, DNA helped tie William Cosden, already in prison for rape, to Devine’s rape and murder.
Haller and another detective, Tim Rudloff, interviewed Cosden and got him to admit that he’d had sex with Devine, but he denied murdering her. All those years after Devine’s homicide, Haller helped find a witness who saw a bloody shoe in Cosden’s truck the around the time of the slaying, colleagues said.
“I told him to get a good lawyer,” Haller recalled telling Cosden.
Haller said Cosden was due to finish his sentence for a different rape around the time that they finally had enough evidence to charge him with Devine’s murder.
Former Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Curtis said Haller’s interviewing skills as a “smooth talker” prompted Cosden to “make a mistake” and admit he’d had contact with Devine.
Curtis said he’ll never forget Haller’s interactions with Devine’s family after the Sheriff’s Office charged Cosden. He said Devine’s father became fixated on Haller’s tie, which was adorned with depictions of antique cars. When the father said “I have to get a tie like that,” Curtis recalled, Haller took it off and handed it to the man.
“It was Dave’s favorite tie as well,” Curtis said, calling Haller “a real class act.”
Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin, who considers Haller a mentor, said Haller’s sometimes-salty attitude hides a softer side.
“When he’s with victims’ families and crime victims that have suffered horrifically, that’s when the genuine Dave comes out,” Elwin said. “He knows how to relate to those people because he cares deeply for them.”
A NEW BEGINNING
Although Haller survived working L.A.’s most dangerous streets in the Rampart Division for more than 10 years, his career was interrupted in 1983 when he was struck by an intoxicated driver. Haller said he suffered broken ribs and internal injuries, and it took him nearly three years to recover. During his recovery, he moved to Western Washington, where he had family, and in 1986 he found work as a corrections officer at the state prison in Shelton.
Haller spoke fondly of his time with LAPD, “walking a foot beat on skid row” and rounding up so many gangbangers in the 1970s that he’d been told two gangs had put a contract out for his life. He said that during his 13½ years with the department, it never went longer than two years without an officer dying in the line of duty.
“You kiss your wife and head off for the night and you don’t know if you’re coming back, and that’s something you learn to live with,” he said of his time with LAPD.
Haller started out in the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer in 1990. In 1991, then-Sheriff Gary Edwards hired him as a deputy. In November 1995, Haller became a detective.
“I think right off the bat I could see he was a seasoned officer who would bring a lot of experience with him to the job,” Edwards said. “He was a real asset to the agency. He had good street savvy, and that always converts over to good detective work.”
Haller also worked as a training officer for deputies and was a great informal mentor and positive influence, Curtis and Hamilton said.
During Haller’s retirement party, colleagues and friends used words such as integrity, honor and professionalism to describe him.
“Dave’s been a great friend personally and professionally, I wouldn’t rather have anybody else on a case,” said Chief Deputy Brad Watkins.
LOOKING FORWARD
Haller said he looks forward to spending more time with his wife and children. He also said he will continue to indulge his passion for racing, taking his modified roadster to the Bonneville Salt Flats in May. He said he and has reached speeds of up to 225 mph, and his goal for his May trip with Haller Motor Sports is to top out at 260 mph.
He said he has always loved cars and racing, but he did not become involved in land-speed racing until he took a trip to the salt flats in 1992.
“I got what they call salt fever, and I’ve been back every year since with a car,” Haller said.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445
jpawloski@theolympian.com
