In years to come, when members of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department remember long-time officers with an unabashed passion for their jobs, the name of Lieutenant David B. Allen clearly will rank at or near the top of the list.

The 50-year-old Allen, who died suddenly from a heart attack September 19, while vacationing with his beloved wife, Janet, in the White Mountains, devoted his entire law-enforcement career to the folks in Ajo, Arizona, and he liked it that way.

“David was raised in Ajo, went to school there, and married his Ajo sweetheart,” recalls Captain Paul Wilson, the lieutenant’s predecessor in the Ajo District office. “He genuinely wanted to keep his community safe. He had a deep-rooted sense of purpose.”

That unwavering dedication to his hometown and its residents came into play soon after he joined the department as a patrol deputy December 7, 1982. For much of the next two years, 1983 and 1984, Ajo was rocked by a bitter labor strike that pitted friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, and ultimately led to the demise of Phelps Dodge’s copper mining activities, the economic backbone of the area.

As a former employee of Phelps Dodge, David Allen knew parties on both sides of the labor conflict. He also learned that deputy activities, both on- and off-duty, were being monitored closely by workers as well as strikers, and it was vital for deputies to maintain an unbiased, neutral position.

“There was tension throughout the community,” according to Captain Wilson. “Violent hatred between strikers and workers resulted in assaults, criminal damage, picketing, verbal taunting, and provocation. Then-Deputy Allen proved a good mediator in keeping the peace under extremely difficult circumstances.”

Obviously, department personnel assigned to the Ajo District in that period “had to bond.” Socializing outside the law-enforcement community became near-impossible. A close-knit unit developed as David Allen organized popular parties for district employees at “The Sheds” behind the Ajo office.

For nearly 22 years as a well-respected representative of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Ajo, the young mediator/peacekeeper displayed a consistent desire to hone new skills and accept more responsibilities. He enjoyed the opportunity to handle detective work, and he also enjoyed teaching local D.A.R.E. classes. He served with distinction and professionalism, earning promotions to sergeant in June 1994, then to lieutenant in January 1998.

Among Lieutenant Allen’s many accomplishments, he received a Unit Commendation for reducing burglaries in the Ajo area in June 1986. He was the recipient of the Southland Corporation Community Service Award in May 1989. He received a Sheriff’s Commendation as well as a Unit Commendation in January 1998 for “Operation Viva Las Vegas,” in which he assisted in shutting down and arresting several drug dealers in the Ajo area. Lieutenant Allen also received a Unit Commendation in 1998 for his participation and hard work with the Sheriff’s Department’s Peer Support Team.

“David Allen was regarded as a caring family man by fellow officers and community residents alike,” Captain Wilson recalls. “If you let him, he would share great details about Janet and their two adult sons, John David and Josh, and how proud he was of all three of them.”

Indeed, he also was immensely proud of the Ajo District, which he reflected in such trinkets as rings and knives that he designed in his spare time. His personal favorite probably was his “Ajo Survivors” belt buckle, since he always had the last laugh.

When it came to Ajo staying power, he was the champ!