The 31-year veteran of the Novato Police Department went on to help manage the Marin Emergency Radio Authority.
Dave Jeffries, a former Novato police captain who had a key role at the Marin Emergency Radio Authority, died at his home in Rohnert Park. He was 63.
The Novato City Council honored Mr. Jeffries during its meeting on Tuesday. A crowd of people, many of them uniformed police and fire personnel from across the North Bay, gathered at the council chambers.
“We are grateful for his time with us and we acknowledge his sacrifice of time with his family to serve others,” Mayor Mark Milberg said.
Laura Land, Mr. Jeffries’ partner, said she was touched by the outpouring of support that night.
“It would have meant so much to Dave and just seeing everybody come here and so many people who knew him and loved him means so much to myself and all of his family,” she said.
Mr. Jeffries died April 22. The Sonoma County coroner’s office is investigating the death, and the cause was unavailable Wednesday.
Mr. Jeffries developed an interest in public safety when he was a student at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa. He was involved in the Civil Air Patrol and volunteered with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, said his youngest brother, Scott Jeffries.
He recalled when his brother chose to study criminal justice in college.
“Some people questioned it because he was a super bright guy and he could’ve done lots of different things, but he chose his profession and he stayed with it,” he said.
Mr. Jeffries graduated with the criminal justice degree in 1982 from California State University, Sacramento. He became a Novato police officer three days later, stayed on the force for 31 years and rose from patrol officer to captain.
Mr. Jeffries was named the Novato Police Department employee of the year in 1999, Milberg said.
Novato police Chief Jim Naugle worked with Mr. Jeffries after joining the department in 1998. Mr. Jeffries was a sergeant by then.
“I just always remembered him always being in a good mood and joking around the station,” Naugle said. “He was always upbeat and always looking for the best.”
After retiring from the department, Mr. Jeffries became involved in emergency management consulting. He was incident commander for the North Bay Incident Management Team as well as president of the California Emergency Services Association.
Mr. Jeffries became deputy executive officer of the Marin Emergency Radio Authority and helped manage a $74 million upgrade of the system. The system is used by dispatch centers to communicate to 25 law enforcement, fire and public works agencies.
Heather Tannehill-Plamondon, MERA’s executive officer, remembered his ability to keep track of all of the ambitious project’s moving parts.
“That made it a lot easier for me to come in and for others to come in and pick up the project,” she said.
The MERA upgrade is still on schedule to transition all users to the new radio network in October, Tannehill-Plamondon said.
“We’re going to do our best to honor him by making sure this project does not slip off-track,” she said.
Quinn Gardner, the deputy director emergency management in San Rafael, recalled how Mr. Jeffries loved the work and the people involved in it.
“He found a way to get a lot of work done and still be everybody’s friend and make everybody laugh,” she said.
In addition to his partner and brother, Mr. Jeffries is survived by his mother Shelly; another brother, Steve; and his son Michael.
A memorial service is planned Saturday in Santa Rosa. More information is available by emailing DLJeffriesMemorial@gmail.com
The family said that in lieu of flowers, supporters can donate to German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California at gsrnc.org.
